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+--- Thread: Yellowface by R. L. Kuang (/showthread.php?tid=8726)
Yellowface by R. L. Kuang - Drunk Monk - 01-06-2026
This is like the one title by this author that Greg hasn't read, which is funny to me because given his reviews, he’s not that into her but he’s read her trilogy and some of her other works, all drawing the same negative reviews. He even read one twice.
This has been recommended to me by many for so many reasons. I picked it up for my vacay reading, got hooked, and finished it in one day. Kuang is a fine writer, a compelling storyteller but parallel to Greg’s reviews, she doesn’t stick landings. This is a story of a hack writer who witnessed her literary star friend choke and die, then steals a manuscript she was working in to build her own success story. It’s labels lee as comedy horror, but it’s neither. It’s more of a thriller.
What complicates the plagiarism is the dead star is Asian and the plagiarist is white. The race cards are brilliantly played, many translucent autobiographical moments. It’s also a great leak into the world of publishing. Both are topics I’m intimately familiar with - when she mentions the struggles on knee publishers, trolls, SDCC & Barcon, I couldn’t help but smirk. Sharp observations and witty takes on AAPI book publishing.
It was a great ride until the conclusion, which was lacking. Such a let down but at least it was at the very end. It had me thinking of alternate better endings.
Not D00M recommended, except maybe for Greg, in case he wants to get Kuanged once more (masochist that he is, he seems to like it, and that’s ok - we still accept him here because it boosts our schadenfreude).