by Maggie Harden
June 2023 Book Club within the WOC Writers Circle was Yellowface by R.F.Kuang. To participate in future book clubs, join the WOC Writers Circle Discord server.
Redemption Arc, Who’s That?
You have one shot to make yourself a success, but it required you to push past your morals. Would you do it?
In Yellowface, us readers are entreated into an immersive first-person perspective about being a publishing author who does exactly that. Each page turn, you’re expecting this author will finally come forward with the truth they’ve been hiding. Each page turn, you see how far this author is willing to go to remain on their pedestal. And at the end of the novel, you’re left asking if this author will ever truly understand how far they’ve fallen and if they even care.
That’s what it’s like to read from June’s perspective about their publishing success throughout the novel.
Who is June and Why We Hate Her
June Hayward, our auspicious perspective character, is not as successful as her Chinese-American counterpart, Athena Liu. In Juniper’s eyes, Athena reached the pinnacle of success while June is left languishing in the shadows. So when Athena dies and June steals her first-draft manuscript, we’re in for a wild ride full of gaslighting, gatekeeping, and girlbossing.
Why we hate her is up to the reader. There is something to feel disgusted about when reading through her perspective. We’re never given a break or a sliver of “morally good.” We are engulfed in hypocritical reasons, flimsy justifications, and biases that we like to think no one has anymore in 2023. Over time, June warps under the weight of the truth, the fame coming with her choices, and the controversies dodging her every step, online and offline.
There is a certain dark humor to knowing every single detail we have about this story is told through the lens of a narrator who insists she has done nothing wrong.
Yet, for as much as we hate her, we also can see a part of ourselves within her and the situations she puts herself in. There is no hero in this story. There is no villain. It is a bunch of messed up humans being messed up humans who influence other messed up humans.
So, Should I Read It?
The writing style is easy to understand, but the content gets heavy at points. There are microaggressions against Asians and other marginalized communities. There are mentions of rape in one of the chapters. The subject of social media and its influence is a key component to the narrative.
If, after knowing all of this, you’re still interested in lying on the floor and questioning everything you know, I say give this book a try. I highly recommend you read it with friends and a cup of calming tea.
You’re going to need it.
Maggie Harden (any pronouns) is a writer of tech, games, and vampire stories. They indulge themselves with fantastical mundane stories and love to nerd out about the art of storytelling. Follow them on Twitter, Cohost.org, and Twitch @magzthawriter. Website: magzthawriter.wordpress.com.
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