Yellowface by Rebecca F Kuang
How far would you go for fame?
Tl;dr ghostwriting at its best
POV you're a struggling author and your friend is a successful author. You keep your distance because you can't cope with her success, but you're lucky enough to be the only one there when she chokes to death. Luckier still, she's half written a new book that no one knows about. If you're a white woman called June Song Hayward, you're going to steal that manuscript and go on one helluva wild ride. This book is very different from any of the 4 previous offerings from Kuang. It's not fantastical; it's all too real.
If you know nothing about the publishing industry then prepare for over 300 pages of cynicism. It's totally understandable because publishing is literally [heh] everything that is depicted in this book. They're out to make money like any other business. This is the definitive text on why and how the publishing industry is fucked.
It's a little ironic that Athena Liu, the dead author in question, is very similar to Rebecca F Kuang herself. It's part of the satire though and really is the point that Kuang is trying to make. She is no more special than a hundred other young Asian authors, but publishers chose her and they can't have too many on their books for some racist reason. Don't think that I don't like RF Kuang, I've enjoyed everything I've read of her. I think that it adds to the sense of humour this book has.
It's safe to say that Kuang had her tongue firmly in her cheek with this book. There's not an ounce of ungratefulness that she herself is the type of author being lampooned in Yellowface. Just because she is of Chinese heritage doesn't mean she can't point out how biased the industry has become. She tells us that regardless of what colour or creed you are you have to sit firmly in your lane. Her last 4 books have focused heavily on Chinese-inspired stories because she's not allowed to write anything else. I like that this is different. A good story is a good story. I'm not saying it's ok to steal stories from "own voices"and nor is this book, it's kinda the whole plot.
There's a point in the middle of the book when June finally succeeds and you root for her. It's the system that’s the villain. As her book earns out of her advance she can finally afford to get health insurance! Yay capitalism!
With success comes fame. It firmly takes hold of June and she becomes conceited about "her" work not deserving any bad reviews. It straddles the line between showing that she's being a bitch, punching down to the readers, then how unfair people on the internet are when they create memes attacking the way she looks and being a women in general. The Chinese American community at large gets behind "Juniper Song" partially because they think her hippy middle name is of Asian origin and because she's finally telling the story of Chinese soldiers no one has wanted to hear before.
Those voices are drowned out by the power of Twitter and it's ability to ruin lives. Being famous must be great until people start forming unfounded opinions about you, despite having never met. It doesn't matter though, it's all about the story and that's the central thesis of the book. The story is king over truth.
None of the things that we see happen on Yellowface's Twitter or elsewhere are surprising. We've all seen them before and some of us have probably had nightmares about being the target of some internet bullying.
Although the first 200 pages may end in a nice happy ending, there is no doubt this book is a thriller. The back third of the book is when all those chickens come home to roost and we really learn that plagiarism is bad. The ending is not as obvious as you might think though and I was pleasantly surprised by it.
Overall, this book is as good as everyone says. It perfectly lampoons publishing and endemic racism. If you're in the market for such a thing, read Yellowface.