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There’s a scene in the popular-and-reviled sitcom F.R.I.E.N.D.S in which Joey stashes a copy of Little Woman in the freezer when he gets the inkling that (spoiler alert) Beth might die. I wish I could have chucked my eReader into the freezer while reading Yellowface.
Joey froze Little Women in an attempt to delay the inevitable. I slammed shut the cover of my Kobo several times because of the gnawing discomfort in my stomach as I delved deeper into the psyche of the troubled June Song Hayward.
The great thing about first person narratives is how rapidly your brain adopts the prose and builds the world the author envisions. This is perfect for my usual fare, fantasy fiction with almost no real-world connections. Djinns and ghosts, witches and dragons, wraiths and vampires are easy to imagine, and you can put them to rest when you turn the last page.
It was a very similar and dissimilar experience with Yellowface. I was torn in two as a part of me experienced Hayward’s gut-wrenching jealousy while simultaneously screaming in rage at the pathetic reasoning being employed to rationalise an obvious wrong. I didn’t understand Hayward. But I was forced to be a part of her. Can you fathom how powerful one’s prose has to be to thrust a psyche into your own mind through the written word?
Rebecca Kuang, you fucking genius. I hate and adore you.
You know how people write grey characters? When I read Yellowface, I realised all seemingly grey characters I’ve read are very much not grey. They take bad decisions, but they overturn their actions later. There is a spot of “realisation” and ultimate course correction.
Hayward isn’t grey. Lol, NOPE. She’s a steaming pile of WRONG. But Kuang dissects Hayward’s brain, butterflies it open, splays out its innards and then happily points out how people create their own realities, how they reach intersections, choose a path and then re-align the entire reality so that the fork never existed in the first place.
Yellowface’s marketing is hinged on the book’s frank portrayal of the U.S. publishing industry – but for me, a reader who isn’t or doesn’t want to be part of this industry – the focal point is the dissection of privilege, insecurity and jealousy of a human mind.
Before I picked up this book, I read a few ARC reviews that expressed disappointment in the ending, but I beg to differ. The ending is exactly how it would play out in real life and nothing in this book has pretended to be otherwise. (Well, other than the characters and the plot LOL).
Yellowface is not really a thriller. There are plot twists but everything you need to know about the book is in its blurb. You read Yellowface for the writing. I have read Kuang’s Poppy War trilogy and Babel but I feel this is her best work till date.
Will re-read when I am feeling particularly masochistic.
Trigger warnings: xenophobia, racism, suicidal ideation, graphic death scene, cyber bullying, sexual assault, islamophobia, PTSD, psychosis, stalking, gaslighting