The story of the Yellowface novel is familiar, where a struggling author “steals” someone else’s story. Yet, there are serious racial overtones in this plot. I was glad to read that many readers have had difficulty with this book since I had trouble relating to the storyteller, who is both protagonist and villain. Not only is she an unreliable narrator, but she also seems to be living in denial of reality and a pathological liar.
The story begins when June Haywood witnesses her friend, Athena Liu, choke to death, and after calling the authorities, June steals an unpublished manuscript from Athena’s apartment. She edits the manuscript, publishes it as her own, and it is successful…until social media activists start the accusations.
In addition to the story of June, who publishes Liu’s book as Juniper Song, readers get a detailed perspective of the publishing industry and the values of editors, agents, and book companies hierarchy. There are many themes, yet the author was too didactic for me. I prefer the themes and messages to be a little more subtle. It was apparent that Kuang wanted us to understand racism from her point of view and recognize white privilege. The text also delved into moral authority and character assassination.
