Yellowface is
another literary blockbuster success written by R.F. Kuang, the author of the
Hugo award-winning speculative fiction masterpiece Babel, or the
Necessity of Violence: an Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’
Revolution (See my
review) and
The Poppy War trilogy. Yellowface won the Goodreads Choice
award for Best Fiction in 2023, demonstrating Kuang’s widening appeal and increasing acclaim to
the general public even before she has completed graduate school(!)
Yellowface is a
story about writing, writers, and the never ending struggle between art and
commerce. Kuang is especially skilled at selecting topics for her books that
are likely to resonate with a significant segment of the book-reading (and
book-buying) public. Babel is focused on the importance and nuance of
words; etymological knowledge becomes a source of technological power through
the application of fantastical magic. Unsurprisingly, the premise that the
meaning and backgrounds of words themselves could be the central aspect of a
plot was irresistible to many reader and literary critics alike.
In Yellowface, Kuang goes even further by centering the
story around literary ambition itself, another thing that both readers and
critics have in common. Many readers, and most (if not all?) critics have
harbored secret thoughts of literary success. Another key ingredient of Yellowface
is its self-conception as an expose, an insider’s view of the book industry
itself. This is, of course, another subject that both readers and critics would
find irresistible to consume. Yellowface is about two
friends/colleagues/rivals who have a lot of similarities, but whose level of
success and career trajectories (when we meet them at the beginning of the
book) are very dissimilar. Juniper (June) Song is the primary protagonist
whose first-person perspective we get throughout the novel while Athena Liu is
her frenemy (friend/enemy) who seems to effortlessly outshine June in every way
that matters. Athena and June are both young authors who have written and
published their first books, to wildly different responses from the public.
Athena and June attended the same prestigious college, and ran in similar
circles since they had similar interests and ambitions (literary success).
However, Athena published her first novel while still in college, obtaining a
prestigious literary agent and book deal. June also finished her first book in
college and got an agent (and far less lucrative) book deal.
Yellowface’s
most important moment happens quite early in the book. While Athena and June
are socializing (in Athena’s fabulous apartment in Washington, DC), celebrating
Athena’s completion of her latest novel when Athena chokes and dies in a freak
accident. (The incident is told from June’s perspective and makes it somewhat
ambiguous whether June could have been more active in trying to save her
“friend.” What happens next is not in doubt, however. June takes the only
existing copy of Athena’s completed manuscript home with her. After a few days
she takes it out and starts to edit it and check and augment the historical
details included in the book. Athena’s novel was a surprising departure from
her previous work; it’s a historical novel, about a little-known incident from
World War I involving Chinese laborers. There’s also an interracial love story.
Eventually, June decides to submit the work to her usually unenthusiastic
agent, passing it off as her own. Of course, everyone loves the book, even
though they are somewhat surprised that June could (and would) write something
like this. June is white, and Athena is Asian-American, so questions of
authenticity become raised almost immediately, internally within June’s
literary agency and externally from fellow writers who knew both Athena and
June, some who are still reeling over the sudden tragic death of Athena, and
are extremely suspicious of June’s bona fides to publish a book about
this topic.
However, what happens next is something of a slow-moving horror
story. As the book becomes more and more successful, scrutiny about the
provenance of the work is also heightened. Kuang skillfully shows how social
media and word-of-mouth (i.e. gossip) operate within literary circles,
especially in her depictions of the sometimes cozy and somewhat incestuous
relationship between authors, critics, publishers, promoters and bookstores.
The ending of Yellowface
is somewhat anticlimactic. Unsurprisingly, as the tension of the plot
ratchets up higher and higher eventually something breaks, but in a way that is
not as compelling as the setup of the story. Overall my impression of the book
are generally positive but I definitely would not have voted for it as the best
fiction book of 2023. Regardless, it’s clear that Kuang is an author on the
rise, and I look forward to reading her future work.
Title: Yellowface.
Author: R.F. Kuang.
Format: Kindle.
Length: 336 pages.
Publisher: William Morrow.
Date Published: May 25, 2023.
Date Read: November 9, 2023.
GOODREADS RATING: ★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0).
OVERALL GRADE: B+/B (3.16/4.0).
PLOT: B+.
IMAGERY: B.
IMPACT: B+.
WRITING: B.
