In ‘Yellowface’ by RF Kuang, struggling writer June Hayward is friends with the much more successful Athena Liu, a rising literary star who's just had a book optioned for a Netflix series. So when the opportunity arises for June to pass off her friend's recently completed book as her own, she decides to take a chance. But can she get away with this act of plagiarism, and will there be a price to pay?

Publishing World

I jumped on board the hype train with this one, seeing it all over bookstagram, and it's bright yellow cover made it hard to miss on the supermarket shelves. I liked the premise, so thought I'd give it a try. As usual, I deliberately read as little about it as possible. 

Firstly, I found ‘Yellowface’ to be a pacy read that I read in a couple of sittings. I wasn't expecting it to be as funny as it was - there's a wicked streak of humour in there. Most of the characters are pretty unlikeable, but that's ok - I wasn't rooting for anyone.

The world of publishing is a fascinating setting, I was interested in the whole process that goes into releasing a book, the team that's involved - editors, agents, publicists, media managers, reviewers - plenty of opportunities here for personalities to clash and people to have varying interpretations of the work.

Cultural Appropriation

 Many of the conversations in the book are about cultural appropriation - Juniper Song (not her real name, which is June Hayward) is a white American who releases a book about Chinese labourers during World War One. Athena Liu, meanwhile, is a celebrated Asian American author. What role does our, gender, race, sexual orientation determine what we can write about?  June states at one point that it's dangerous for writers to be told what they can and can't write.

It also asks interesting questions asked about racial diversity in the industry, the decisions that publishers make about how many diverse titles they can publish each season.  It's also highlights the influence of social media, whether twitter (or x, whatever it's called these days) has on the success of a book. It also looks at social media addiction and the importance of staying off the internet when it's affecting your sanity. Writer careers and reputations are both built and destroyed online, a point made a number of the times about cancel culture in this book. 

Also, what can a writer write about? Is it acceptable to mine aspects of your friends/loved ones lives for a plot line? Where does the line between writer/friend finish?

Juniper Song & Athena Liu

June/Juniper is an interesting character, fairly unlikeable but also believable in her insecurities. We all experience jealousy at some stage in our professional lives, and we’ve all dreamt of a life where we are properly rewarded for our talents. So what if we have to take the odd shortcut, sure the world would have recognised our genius eventually. Right?

June is quite persuasive, laying out all the reasons why this is a not a straightforward theft. There is a backstory to her relationship with Athena, and when does one story start and another begin? Of course she's not only justifying it to herself, but to the reader as well. I found myself warming to her!

 Kuang does a great job of ratcheting up the tension throughout, but especially in the final third of ‘Yellowface’ when it becomes particularly frantic. Like a cross between 'don't look now' and 'tar', I was never sure where it was going but enjoyed the ride.  

I had to remind myself at times that this is an Asian writer, writing in the first person voice of a white writer who is passing off the work of an Asian writer as her own. Takes some writerly talent to carry that off but I think she does with skill. It add's another layer to the reading of the book. I'd certainly like to read more by RF Kuang, and I'd say this matched the hype, which isn't always the case. (Just read that RF Kuang is only 27 and her other books look completely different - fantasy and historical fiction. I’ll be checking those out.)

Yellowface Summary

This is a really enjoyable literary thriller, that asks interesting questions especially around cultural appropriation and racial diversity in the publishing industry. It's provocative and explores topical issues whilst also being  a propulsive read and at times, satirical and wickedly funny. Superbly written and crafted, it’s easy to see why ‘Yellowface’ has done so well.

322 pages, Hardcover

First published May 25, 2023 Harper Collins

Bookshop Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon AUS

If you like this, you might also like Birnam Wood by Elizabeth Catton, another propulsive literary thriller

Yellowface Bookclub questions for discussion (Spoiler Alert)

What role does our gender, race, sexual orientation play in determining what we can write about?

June states at one point that it's dangerous for writers to be told what they can and can't write.   Agree or disagree?

Is it ok to take notes on aspects of your friends and loved ones live, and use them as fictional inspiration. Is there a line to be crossed?

Do you think June and Athena are similar in any ways? And do you think they were ever actually friends?

Do you think the role of publishers is portrayed honestly in the book?

What did you think of June as a character and do you think it was brave of the author to stay in her voice throughout the book?

Towards the end of the book, Mrs Liu says ‘Athena would never write something like that’ when referring to Junipers new release. What did she mean by that?

Do you think Junipers plan will succeed?

What points do you think RF Kuang was making with this book?