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I was so excited when I first learned that we were getting a new R.F. Kuang fantasy novel this year. I’m reading Katabasis now and it’s such a delight to return to Kuang’s work and finally experience her fantasy writing–yes, finally. I know Babel and the Poppy War series were huge and won awards, but I was late to Kuang. It wasn’t until I picked up the book I’m recommending here that I received my introduction to this author’s smart and propulsive storytelling. It isn’t often that you see an author go from successfully penning a few truly dark fantasy novels to successfully penning a juicy, scathing contemporary fiction novel. As a historically heavy reader of science fiction and fantasy, it felt almost sacrilegious to pick up the fiction before the fantasy, but at the time I really needed something more deviously delicious than truly grimdark. I got everything I needed, wanted, and didn’t know I wanted from my first Kuang.
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
Why yes, I do enjoy scathing commentary on publishing’s weird and problematic approach to BIPOC authors and works about underrepresented communities in the form of fiction. After Percival Everett’s Erasure, I wanted more. This is why Yellowface initially appealed to me, but I admit I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy a book told from the perspective of a white woman thieving her dead Chinese American frienemy’s manuscript. Who doesn’t enjoy a good villain’s tale, but sheesh. Ultimately, I decided I didn’t want to miss out on another Kuang moment (and this book was a moment) so I said, what the hell, picked it up, and didn’t put it back down until I was done.
About that stolen manuscript–Juniper Hayward and Athena Liu begin as aspiring authors and peers, but effortlessly talented, glamorous Athena becomes the literary darling while June struggles to get her own agent’s attention. Athena’s untimely and truly ungraceful death and June’s sticky fingers give the struggling writer exactly what she’s looking for: a book that will put her on the map. Does it matter that Athena’s secret work in progress that she now calls her own is based on wartime accounts of Chinese laborers? Not to her agent or the publishers who see big money! Not even to June, or so she begins to convince herself, doubling down even as the discourse about who profits off the stories of the marginalized reaches fever pitch and threatens to upend her fabricated world.
Oooooh when I tell you this book is juicy, I mean it’s a sticky mess. Following June down this terrible path was so treacherous and gripping. This would make for a truly entertaining summer read.
In Reading Color
A weekly newsletter focusing on literature by and about people of color!
The following comes to you from the Editorial Desk.
This week, we’re highlighting a post that asks: Are reading parties the next big thing? People—especially readers—are clearly looking for community. Are reading parties the answer? Read on for an excerpt and become an All Access member to unlock the full post.
Reading communities are everywhere online. From Storygraph to Fable to BookTube to BookTok, the growth of online reading buddies feels exponential. The problem with social media as it exists online, however, is that it’s a stand-in for the true connections we all seek over the things we love. As much as reading roundups and reading tracking can be fun, meeting up with in-person book lovers is a great book lover community event. With that in mind, reading parties could be the next big thing.
A reading party is distinct from a book club because everyone shows up to read instead of having read something to discuss. At a reading party, you can make time to discuss what you are reading, but it doesn’t all need to be the same book. It’s more of a reading vibe check than a book discussion.
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