I recently became a reviewer for Jonathan Ball publishers, a local to South Africa publishing house. In February they did a 'blind date with a book' promotion and I had a blast! My book arrived beautifully wrapped with a clue on the front.
" You've been matched with a date who is trying something different, has a tell all attitude and a dark sense of humour"
My book date was Yellowface by RF Kuang!
I wasn't familiar with her work because she usually writes a genre I don't typically read, but this one immediately had my attention.
The theme is writing and publishing and it's always been an interest of mine. Yellow face is set for release in May 2023 and can be pre-ordered here on Amazon, Waterstones, Barnes and Noble
Synopsis
White lies. Dark humor. Deadly consequences… Bestselling sensation Juniper Song is not who she says she is, she didn’t write the book she claims she wrote, and she is most certainly not Asian American—in this chilling and hilariously cutting novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author R. F. Kuang.
Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But Athena’s a literary darling. June Hayward is literally nobody. Who wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks.
So when June witnesses Athena’s death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena’s just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers during World War I.
So what if June edits Athena’s novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song—complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn’t this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? That’s what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree.
But June can’t get away from Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June’s (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.
With its totally immersive first-person voice, Yellowface grapples with questions of diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation, as well as the terrifying alienation of social media. R.F. Kuang’s novel is timely, razor-sharp, and eminently readable.
My Review
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was such an addictive and compelling book, I liken it to the addictive side of social media mentioned throughout.
Juniper is i think the most morally grey character I have come across and while I should hate Juniper , RF Kuang has a way of making you actually root for and feel sorry for the villain! And the anxiety levels when she's facing being caught or punished for her serious misdeeds were unreal!
She started giving me Lady Macbeth vibes, with her paranoia and when she was on the verge of actually losing her mind over what she did and the way she would literally do just about anything to cover her tracks is shocking but at the same warped time compulsively gripping.
She is the epitome of a narcissist.
This book made me fully see that kids who are fawned over, told how amazing they are and have a very strong support system and as a result have high self esteem have a much greater chance to succeed and do so much better than kids who's parents don't think the sun shines out their a$$ and who's self confidence is generally lower.
Not that it's an excuse to pass someone else's work as your own....
Thank you Jonathan Ball for the opportunity to read this haunting book, that's stayed in my mind since I finished it.
Some quotes I loved
When you're a writer all that matters is the story within.
It makes my fingers itch to see a good sentence, it makes me want to imitate the same
Reading should be an enjoyable experience, not a chore.
This is what I love about writing, it offeres endless opportunities to reinvent ourselves and the stories we tell about ourselves. It lets us acknowledge every aspect of our heritage and history.
Meanwhile I think writing is fundementally an exercise in empathy.
Disclaimer: I can't find anywhere local to pre order Yellowface but once it's out in the local suppliers I will update the shopping links.
" You've been matched with a date who is trying something different, has a tell all attitude and a dark sense of humour"
My book date was Yellowface by RF Kuang!
I wasn't familiar with her work because she usually writes a genre I don't typically read, but this one immediately had my attention.
The theme is writing and publishing and it's always been an interest of mine. Yellow face is set for release in May 2023 and can be pre-ordered here on Amazon, Waterstones, Barnes and Noble
White lies. Dark humor. Deadly consequences… Bestselling sensation Juniper Song is not who she says she is, she didn’t write the book she claims she wrote, and she is most certainly not Asian American—in this chilling and hilariously cutting novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author R. F. Kuang.
Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But Athena’s a literary darling. June Hayward is literally nobody. Who wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks.
So when June witnesses Athena’s death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena’s just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers during World War I.
So what if June edits Athena’s novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song—complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn’t this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? That’s what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree.
But June can’t get away from Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June’s (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.
With its totally immersive first-person voice, Yellowface grapples with questions of diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation, as well as the terrifying alienation of social media. R.F. Kuang’s novel is timely, razor-sharp, and eminently readable.
My Review
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was such an addictive and compelling book, I liken it to the addictive side of social media mentioned throughout.
Juniper is i think the most morally grey character I have come across and while I should hate Juniper , RF Kuang has a way of making you actually root for and feel sorry for the villain! And the anxiety levels when she's facing being caught or punished for her serious misdeeds were unreal!
She started giving me Lady Macbeth vibes, with her paranoia and when she was on the verge of actually losing her mind over what she did and the way she would literally do just about anything to cover her tracks is shocking but at the same warped time compulsively gripping.
She is the epitome of a narcissist.
This book made me fully see that kids who are fawned over, told how amazing they are and have a very strong support system and as a result have high self esteem have a much greater chance to succeed and do so much better than kids who's parents don't think the sun shines out their a$$ and who's self confidence is generally lower.
Not that it's an excuse to pass someone else's work as your own....
Thank you Jonathan Ball for the opportunity to read this haunting book, that's stayed in my mind since I finished it.
Some quotes I loved
When you're a writer all that matters is the story within.
It makes my fingers itch to see a good sentence, it makes me want to imitate the same
Reading should be an enjoyable experience, not a chore.
This is what I love about writing, it offeres endless opportunities to reinvent ourselves and the stories we tell about ourselves. It lets us acknowledge every aspect of our heritage and history.
Meanwhile I think writing is fundementally an exercise in empathy.
Disclaimer: I can't find anywhere local to pre order Yellowface but once it's out in the local suppliers I will update the shopping links.
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