Yellowface: The instant #1 Sunday Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick from author R.F. Kuang
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The No. 1 Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller from literary sensation R.F. Kuang
*A Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick*
*Shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year*
‘Propulsive’ SUNDAY TIMES
‘Razor-sharp’ TIME
‘A riot’ PANDORA SYKES
‘Hard to put down, harder to forget’ STEPHEN KING
Athena Liu is a literary darling and June Hayward is literally nobody.
White lies
When Athena dies in a freak accident, June steals her unpublished manuscript and publishes it as her own under the ambiguous name Juniper Song.
Dark humour
But as evidence threatens June’s stolen success, she will discover exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.
Deadly consequences…
What happens next is entirely everyone else’s fault.
R.F. Kuang’s book ‘Yellowface’ was a #1 Sunday Times bestseller w/c 04-06-23
R.F. Kuang’s book ‘Yellowface’ was a #5 New York Times bestseller w/c 04-06-23
R.F. Kuang’s book ‘Babel’ was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 09-01-2023.
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Additional information
| Publisher | The Borough Press (25 May 2023) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 336 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 000853277X |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0008532772 |
| Dimensions | 15.9 x 3.2 x 24 cm |
by Kindle Customer
Yellow face is the story of June, a young author struggling to establish a writing career. June is fiercely jealous of her University friend Athena, who on the other hand, seems to have it all -bestsellers, good looks, money and a wide fan base. In a cosmically ironic incident, Athena fatally chokes in front of June, seconds after revealing a disgruntled June, her latest manuscript. June grabs the manuscript, edits it and goes on to publish her first bestseller, finally realising her dream career. June’s euphoria jumps out from the pages of the novel but while she is basking in this new found glory ghosts from the past come to haunt her. As the story unfolds the writing is both addictive and compelling. As well as a series of clever twists and developments, Two key themes are carefully explored. The isolation and struggles faced by authors in a toxic and competitive environment as well as the negative impacts of social media and cyber bullying, the latter in particular will resonate with many young readers. Overall a very enjoyable read and an incredible protagonist. In fact I am still not sure what I think of our June …?
by Jillh131
Heavily influenced by the Instagram book community, Yellowface was EVERYWHERE as a must read, and who am I to resist becoming involved? I couldn’t wait to get stuck into this book! Athena Lui is royalty of the Literature world. Her closest friend – actually, her ONLY friend – June is a polar opposite in terms of success, having published a book that wasn’t such a hit. Jealousy is deeply rooted in June (whether she wants to admit this or not) but when Athena dies in front of June in a freak accident, an opportunity strikes for June to steal Athena’s unpublished manuscript. No one knew Athena was working on it, so if she claims it has own, where’s the harm?
The book becomes a massive success and throws June into the spotlight, allowing her to experience Athena’s way of life as master of her craft. I was rooting for June throughout this novel, despite her being completely unsympathetic to her situation and actions. I honestly felt flurries of anxiety when things were closing in on her and was totally on edge when she was about to be discovered as a fraud.
I really made me consider what authors go through to bring their story to us. We pick up a book with complete faith in the author with confidence that they’re going to give us a great story and confidence we’re going to like it but the pressure that must be on them to give a good story or be compared to previous novel – I’d never considered it before. This book gave me an insight into the publishing world, which was fierce, savage and very, very interesting.
There were points in this book where I laughed out loud. The language the author uses is the language I use with my friends so completely relatable and comfortable to read. I didn’t really like any of the characters, but I don’t think I was meant to, keeping in mind everything is from June’s perspective, and June isn’t exactly our most stable source!
Overall, I enjoyed the book. I didn’t rush through it like I usually do when I get a novel I love but it still kept me very entertained!
by JRoper
I really enjoyed Babel and was hoping for something similar in Yellowface…… Babel it’s not!
The storyline follows one author stealing an unpublished manuscript from her deceased friend, editing it and claiming it as her own.
Things start to go wrong when other authors notice the similarities between the new book and the deceased authors published works.
Even after writing her own stand-alone novel, June can’t escape the critics claiming it as Athena’s work again and her whole world falls apart.
It’s an interesting look at the world of publishing but it’s not earth shattering.
by Martina Nolan-Byrne
Really enjoyed as it is different from anything I ever read before. It kept my attention 95 percent of the time. Felt it was a bit longwinded once or twice. Writing was excellent. Would definitely recommend. ????
by Ricardo
I haven’t read anything similar to this story before, very interesting how the writer builds their characters and you know it’s with a clear understanding of the writing and publishing industry….love the way the character becomes more desperate and frantic as the story moves on.
I would have gone with 5 stars but the ending wasn’t what I hoped or expected…just seemed to stop.
Well worth a read.