bruna's Reviews > Yellowface

★ 3.25 stars

𝅄 𓂃 𖥻 “The truth is fluid. There is always another way to spin the story, another wrench to throw into the narrative.” 𑇛 ˚

this was my first R. F. Kuang book and well... it was. erm. something! i genuinely don’t really know how to properly express how was my experience and if i liked my introduction to her work or not. you know that feeling when you read a book and you don’t hate it because it wasn’t awful, but also you don’t love it because it wasn’t that remarkable so you just feel stuck in a limbo? yeah, that’s exactly how i’m feeling at this moment. i can’t remember the last time i’ve felt this conflicted about a book.

on one hand, i can see why a majority of my friends gave Yellowface high ratings. Kuang’s writing is good enough to keep you invested and this novel — as ridiculous and chaotic it might seem in certain areas — is occasionally entertaining, fast-paced and even insightful in some way. it satirically delves into themes of racism, cultural appropriation, cancel culture, diversity, jealously, and how the publishing industry isn’t all rainbows and flowers. topics that are undeniably interesting to read about, especially in the time we live in.

all of the characters are flawed, exasperating, and none of them are really likeable or actual good people if we’re being honest. the protagonist, per example, is straight up insane, unredeemable and very, very unlikeable. multiple times i thought to myself “damn... this girl can’t get any worse!” and then she proved me wrong every. single. time. but honestly? that’s not necessarily something that made me hate this book. yes, reading stories with characters like that is frustrating and exhausting, but it still can bring entertainment. i just feel like there’s no fun in reading books about characters that are perfect and flawless. i need them to feel human. and here they did feel human. sure, in a horrible and unredeemable way, but still counts.

now on other hand... generally speaking, this book is not as compelling as i thought i would be. the potential was surely right there, but i feel like the execution left much to be desired. given the premise and the topics of this book, the author had the perfect opportunity to masterfully deliver a groundbreaking and impactful story — but, sadly, she didn’t. not in my eyes, at least.

this is not me saying this book is awful, because frankly i don’t think it is. don’t get me wrong. at times, i felt immersed by this messy, crazy story and the fact that i didn’t know exactly where it was going kept me entertained to make me continue reading it. at other times, though, i just felt deeply bored and unsatisfied because the narrative veered off into directions that didn’t seem captivating and enjoyable enough in my opinion. like the ending. what an unsatisfying ending it was...

the story isn’t a total failure — i mean, if it was, i wouldn’t be giving it three stars. but i wasn’t a big fan of certain choices that the author made. i guess that explains why i feel so conflicted and unsure whether i enjoyed this book as a whole or not. i genuinely don’t even know how to accurately describe my general experience. i thought about it for two hours and i still don’t know.

like i said at the beginning of this review: i didn’t hate this book, but i didn’t love it either.

all that being said, i still recommend Yellowface to those who are looking for an unhinged and fast-paced read. you might hate it, you might love it, or you might just feel... unsure, just like i did. quite hard to guess beforehand i’d say, but it’s worth giving it a shot to know.