Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang

Posted by Ms A on August 3, 2023 in All, Book Club Fodder, Grab it Now, Holiday Reads | 1 Comment

Yellowface opens with two friends who are both young writers.  Charismatic Asian American, Athena Liu has hit the ground running with a multi-book deal, offer from Netflix and doting agent whereas jealous June Hayward has published her first flop. Their friendship is fraught from the start.

When Athena suddenly chokes and dies on a pandan pancake, June steals an unpublished manuscript off her desk and proceeds to pass it off as her own. 

The problem is that the manuscript is a WWI epic about the mistreatment of Chinese labourers at the hands of the British Army. Despite the fact that June doesn’t know anything about this part of history and can’t stomach a dumpling, the literary world swings into action and she has critically acclaimed bestseller on her hands.

Of course, the more attention the book gets, the more scrutiny it attracts and it becomes grippingly obvious that things are not going to end well for June.

Some people are calling this book a thriller but it is closer to a horror story for me.  Bumbling lies, intense public backlash, threats and gritty insights into the publishing world are frightening, but undeniably engrossing at the same time. 

Wrap that with June’s sorry attempts to defend her decisions and we get a look at the sometimes sad, isolating world of storytelling where everyone is making things up as they go along and borrowing from others to varying degrees.

This book moves fast and is absolutely perfect for readers young and old.  Plagiarism and cultural appropriation are such juicy topics and the slightly twisted, comic tone adds to the entertainment without diminishing the message.

Assuming Kuang hasn’t stolen this manuscript from someone else, she genuinely knows how to write a bestseller.

And that’s my 2 cents worth.