Yellowface

Yellowface by R. F. Kuang unfolds in the ultra-competitive world of contemporary publishing at a time of reckoning with its overwhelming whiteness. A scathing, incisive and often laugh-out-loud-funny satire tells a resonant story of deep and systemic racism, white privilege, cultural appropriation and identity theft.

The book is narrated from the perspective of June Hayward, a struggling white writer who steals and publishes the manuscript of her recently deceased friend, Athena Liu. Athena was a literary superstar whose talent and beauty made her the wealthy darling of the publishing world. While the two are alone, Athena suffers a fatal accident, and June subsequently takes Athena’s last manuscript from her desk.

Athena’s manuscript, The Last Front, is a masterpiece. It is a painstakingly researched fictional account of the Chinese Labour Corps—the 140,000 Chinese workers sent to the Allied front by the British Army during World War 1.

June draws upon her privilege and white supremacy in the institution of publishing to silence all critics — especially criticism from Asian people — and enjoy her own meteoric rise to literary stardom. As the story progresses, she becomes increasingly haunted and trapped by the web of lies she has woven.

Yellowface raises important questions about what happens when authors from marginalized groups achieve success, underscoring the tokenism and snobbery of the publishing industry.