Review of Yellowface, by Rebecca F. Kuang
I had no idea what this book was about.
I was intrigued by Yellowface as two very different friends of mine had mentioned it. I wondered what could possibly bridge these two women? I will be honest that I have issues with reading fiction, and am certainly at that stage where any time I have to read, focusses on my profession.
And why do I not like fiction?
Fiction makes me feel entertained, but it can also make me feel a bit cheated. Reading fiction is almost like having too much fun. Like those who only want to watch happy movies, fiction, especially tragic stories can be dysregulating for me, even if they are great pieces of work. I read a lot of fiction before I had children, but now, I just don’t seem to be able to prioritise it.
In the culture in which I was raised, they say every grain eaten has the eater's name on it. I believe the same with written words, kind of. There is a reason why you read the book you are reading. There is a reason why you are reading that precise book at that moment of your life.
And I just need to be clear, despite the title, I had no idea what Yellowface was about. Ok so it is called Yellowface, but not even that clicked to me as something to do with cultural appropriation of Asian culture. Some of you will know that the appropriation of Black culture is called blackface. Yellowface should have clicked.
Success also led me to Yellowface as it was a Sunday Times Best Seller rating 1st, and 5th on the New York Times Best Seller list, Amazon Book of the Year, and Foyle’s Fiction Book of the Year.
After the first few pages, it became obvious that this is a book about the “friendship” between two women writers. Perhaps my attention was not razor sharp in the first few pages (it happens), but with the introduction of the character of Athena Liu, I lazily assumed the other character, her friend, the character who is also the narrator, shared Liu’s ethnicity. But the narrator was white. Her name, Juniper Hayward.
(As an aside, how do you pronounce the word narrator? Do you say narr-at-er? Or do you say ner-ray-ter?).
And so begins the story of how these two women were friends at college aka university, Liu is the vastly more successful writer now they have both entered the working world of writing, and one night, when Liu invites June (shortened from Juniper) to her apartment, Liu dies in a freak accident in the presence of June.
But just before lauded writer Liu was involved in the accident, there is a conversation between her and June where Liu mentions that she is currently working on her next book. Liu points to her manuscript and asks June to take a look. It is about Chinese history. To be exact it is about the thousands of Chinese workers enlisted to work in the British Army in World War I. Liu then dies in quite a funny scene.
So what do you think happens next? What do you think crosses June’s mind? She takes the manuscript of the notes and? Come on…….
What do you think she does?
Correct.
June palms the manuscript off as her own work. Unbelievable as though it may seem given it is about such a sensitive topic from Chinese history, and that June is not Chinese.
Yellowface is satirical and a classic page turner. Kuang has rhythm in her words, and the narrated style is unforgiving towards her character of June who displays all the hallmarks of a work stealer, and zero self awareness of her cultural appropriation of Chinese culture. More and more pages in, June becomes worse, unlikeable and egregiously shameless. She has no redeeming features. Kuang does not even use the word “white woman,” but her words for June are so racially cutting that some commenters have called the book racist against white women.
I think the book really does assassinate June for being white without even using the word much. But the onslaught against June’s appropriation is not so damning that it precludes the book from being a best seller. People are liking this fictional work. Even white women.
I guess that this explains why both of my friends gravitated towards the book as it's very clever. Some reviewers have described Kuang’s writing as "blunt” but I disagree. Her words are edgy and have you on edge. Hmm. Isn’t that what edgy means? It is funny and there are enough other elements in the book, such as Chinese lore, that detract from being a book just about race.
You can get away with being more controversial, if you are witty with words and Kuang has bags full of this.
Can you imagine? I had no knowledge of what this story was about and it ended up being a satire on racial diversity and heritage. How much more up my street could this book get?
SO YOU WANNA BE A WRITER
The work also heavily takes out the publishing industry and takes it to task. As such, Yellowface seems a must read for aspiring writers. Anyone looking to write a book, or a work of fiction, should read Yellowface. The way June talks of cliques of writers very much resonated with me as even authors recommend each other’s works based on alliances, and not merit.
The arrogance of agents and publishers was at times funny, but also crushingly honest for an aspiring writer to know. Then there is the money side of things. We learn about the “advance” payment authors get when a deal is sealed, and more interestingly how controversy and cancel culture can build sales. There are scenes around June teaching teen writers - yes, teens get sent to such courses in a bid to become writers. Kuang also writes about Goodreads - I had no idea that it was so bitchy and that authors care about it.
Then there is the diversity and equality debate interwoven with the publishing debate and the book as a whole- that June thinks that ethnic writers are in vogue and that being diverse gives one an advantage in the literary world, even if there is only room for one “ethnic” writer in the publishing house.
WHO DID IT? AND CAN YOU?
The story is also a bit of a “whodunnit.” When I learned “who actually did it,” I was surprised. I thought it was someone else. Maybe I am dim though, as other reviewers criticise the book for it being obvious and predictable “who did it.”
And what about who doing it being allowed to do it?
As per a previous edition of Ludology on Representation, the book also explores themes of who can write a book about which culture and what is acceptable or not. If white June can steal the work of Liu and write about Chinese history (as many white authors do in real life on Indian history for example), why can’t Kuang who is Chinese in origin, write a book in the voice of a white woman? If June Hayward can disguise as faux chinese by her name being altered as racially ambiguous (you can read the book yourself to find out what surname the publishers give June when they agree to publish the stolen manuscript) to sell the book to the Asians, can’t we also criticise Rebecca Kuang, the real life author of this book for being called Rebecca? Lots of discussion points.
I delved into this point a little deeper and was disappointed to learn exactly how much appropriation there has been of Asian characters in film. In this article by TeenVogue you can learn about how Scarlett Johansson “Japanesed Up” for her role in Ghost in the Shell. Shocking to think that Johansson pulled that off and meanwhile, people melted down over the character of Rose in Star Wars playing herself.
NON ASIAN LENS
Despite excellent reviews of Yellowface, I have noticed that many writers of Chinese descent have given really in-depth critiques of this book. I have really welcomed this, as from a non Chinese lens, I can just see this book as funny, fast and frankly taking the piss out of a white woman caricature, and the publishing industry and I didn’t think too much about the character of Liu herself. The latter is described as privileged, wealthy, posh, thin, pretty and has multiple best sellers and is a luvvie in the publishing world. We don’t question her backstory - we as non Chinese are likely to just accept it. On the surface, Liu is a caricature.
But it is because I lived in New Zealand, and this is where I believe fate comes into it, and because I was fortunate to live in a Chinese community and befriend diverse people from this community that I see the issues with Yellowface, as put forward by young people of Chinese descent.
Kuang herself comes from an exceptionally privileged background and one reviewer, “withcindy” discusses the problematic nature of Kuang’s work. She (like many others) suggests that Kuang spends the whole book basically damning June as a character for simply being a white woman and racist, when alongside that, Kuang could also have explored Liu’s own privilege in her writing, being able to take gap years, being privately educated, and Liu’s appropriation/tourism in writing about Chinese history. It seems that there are similarities between Liu and Kuang. Had I never lived in the Chinese community I did, I never would have understood this as valid criticism.
This criticism also reminded me of how in New Zealand I met very wealthy Chinese and Korean people and also very working class ones i.e. I was given the opportunity not to see this community as one entity. Some Chinese and Koreans had very different lives to the wealth people associate with “crazy rich asians,” and that can’t be ignored when we talk of Yellow culture. I once witnessed how a very wealthy Korean child treated a not so wealthy Chinese kid in my home. It was evident that the rich kid was pulling some class/wealth stuff on the poorer one. I made sure to drop the Korean kid home first, so she wouldn’t see how small the house of the poorer Chinese kid was. Both these girls are very intelligent, and I can’t help but think how their lives will end up.
And so I agree with many critiques of this book that Kuang, if she wanted to raise awareness of things related to the Yellow culture, she could also have explored Athena Liu’s own place in that system too. Accordingly, that would require Kuang, a very privileged talented and young writer herself, to explore her own privilege.
There are parts of the book where the character of Hayward attacks Liu for her privilege and her seeming lack of support to other Asian writers. But it isn’t cutting or deep enough, and by this time, Kuang has dug June into the lowest of low of ditches as the one dimensional anti Asian racist, that any criticism by June of Liu looks bitchy and borne out of jealousy and racism.
IN POPULAR CULTURE
This criticism I have read of Kuang as an author very much reminded me of my own heritage, and how that intersects me as someone who writes who is South Asian, and not working class. I was privately educated. I am of the Brahmin caste and I know that caste is a structural marker that has influenced my heritage, and that I have reaped benefits from that heritage.
Here in Wales meanwhile, being privately educated is a massive privilege. Like the character of Liu, I am also slim and light skinned. Light skin colour, accents, beauty etc, they are all the “good” things we associate with good migrants. So whilst Yellowface affirms my love of writing words, it also reminds me that I write from a dense place of privilege, and that this affects what I put out.
And so at the time of writing it should be no surprise that in our popular culture, Kuang is not the only one being pulled up on her privileged heritage and its link to her craft.
You may have seen a video of Jennifer Lopez which the internet is mocking where JLo talks about being sixteen and carefree and on the block, with some claiming that they never even saw her on “the block.” Meanwhile Beyonce’s latest Album has just come out, and the Guardian chose not to support it, but instead ran with this hit piece in which a young African American guitarist named Yasmin Williams, accuses Beyonce and her album of “drowning out” black artistry. Beyonce is criticised for putting herself and her brand before everything else.
Yellowface is all about diversity and with that and the rest, we are seeing that even diverse people are not immune from the diversity scrutiny.
Yellowface was hugely entertaining but could have been even better if Kuang applied the same razor relentless stereotypical characteristics and wit to the posh Chinese girl that is Liu, that it did to June, as the white woman.
Yellowface - entertaining, witty and millennial, but a little satirically imbalanced.
I hope this Susbtack informs your outlook.