As I did with previous posts, I will stick to English with this one, as I read the (original) English version of the book. As mentioned before, I tend to buy books in their original language if I feel my skills in that language are good enough to sufficiently grasp both content and style.
„Yellowface“ by Rebecca F. Kuang has been on my wish list ever since I read „Babel“, another one of her books. While „Babel“ is set in a fantasy world (though inspired by real-world colonialism), „Yellowface“ takes place much closer to the real world and brings up current discussions in culture and politics.
The setting of the book can be summarized quickly: Failed writer Juniper Hayward witnesses the death of her greatest rival, Athena Liu, and seizes the opportunity to steal the manuscript of her latest – still unpublished – novel about Chinese laborers recruited to work in Europe during World War I. She edits the manuscript and presents it as her own work.
From there, the plot unfolds in a fairly predictable way, but it raises important topics such as cultural appropriation, the situation of Asian minorities in the US, as well as social media mobbing. At the same time, the book contains a highly entertaining, though (hopefully!) exaggerated take on the American publishing industry.
I really enjoyed reading this book and found it hard to put down. While I appreciated the insights into an industry I’m not (yet) very familiar with, the novel also makes your laughter catch in your throat. At times, I read with a physically aching stomach because I was so furious at the protagonist for her ignorance and often blatant racism. The novel also tells an important story about how social media can destroy a person – especially if they are lonely and spend too much time online.
This was a really impressive read for me and I highly recommend it!
Rating: ★★★★★
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