Yellowface

Wonderfully contrived to make you care about what horror the dislikable narrator will justify next, in a savage and very online swipe at publishing, representation, and authorship.

I like the premise, the plot, the narrator and the discussion about cultural appropriation. The writing flows nicely. The pop culture references and the tweets were fun at the start too, but eventually it got too repetitive for my taste. I get that the main character was spiraling, but it felt tedious towards the end. At times, the villain-ness of the main character felt too heavy-handed, verging on rage-bait (or was it just too close to home?). And the ending didn't do the book justice.

Yellow Face is a reflection of our society today and of its contradictions. Kuang takes a thought-provoking critical look at the entire literary industry and the effects of racism, privilege, and cultural appropriation. Its gripping plot makes the book a compelling read that you can hardly put down.

Devoured this in two days, half because it carried me along so effectively and half because I wanted to finish it because it made me anxious. This book accomplished what I understood to be its goals with incredible precision. Some of the satire was a bit broad but it was all eminently believable, as were the characters (all a little bit relatable, all a little bit despicable). Absolutely outstanding book. I'm glad to be done with it.

Creo que el thriller psicológico contemporáneo pega mucho más con el tipo de prosa rabiosa e implacable de Kuang. El comentario sociopolítico acompaña mucho mejor esta historia que Babel y, aunque se sigue atragantando de lo obvia que es, consigue hilvanarlo mejor con la trama.

This tale from a deeply unreliable, envy-driven narrator is more of a sharp satire of liberal racism than its publishing industry setting. It's at its least compelling when discussing Twitter drama, but there's ample snark just underneath each turn of phrase, and more than enough ratcheting tension to have kept me turning the pages.

I did not think it was possible for one tale to have so many twists and turns that it became a spiral, one that was out of control. Sadly, that is what this story does. The writing is wonderful, the literature aspects are strong. But, I am completely dizzy. The "me too", "culture wars" aspects of this tale are simply too much for me.