Litsy

#333Challenge

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This has changed a lot in recent years
Jacqueline Woodson
Han Kang
Yaa Gyasi

Read More:
Valérie Perrin
Percival Everett
R.F. Kuang

Start Reading:
George Eliot
Fonda Lee
and I guess Emily Henry since I randomly bought 2 of her books at some point.

Suet624 I‘d definitely encourage your plan to read more Perrin and Everett. 5d

ChaoticMissAdventures @Suet624 I have always felt Everett was too smart for me, but I loved James and Erasure so going to try a couple more, and I have 2 Perrin waiting for me on my shelves. Who are you going to read more of?? 5d

Suet624 Everett, Rebecca Wait, Rene Denfield, Claudia Pineiro, and Catherine Chidgey. 5d

ChaoticMissAdventures @Suet624 I thought about Chidgey! I really want to read Pet. 5d

32 likes4 comments

Erin.Elizabeth10

Yellowface | R F Kuang

pick

This book is perfectly written with an unreliable narrator and the writing is absolutely uncanny, witty, and disturbing. I was totally sucked in for most of the story, finishing it in a few days. Towards the end, the plot dragged a little bit to me, but overall it was an amazing book.

20 likes

dabbe

Yellowface | R F Kuang

#HauntedShelf
@PuddleJumper @Jadams89 #FrightClub
#BookRecommendations
#yellow #morallydubious

I'm counting this one for two. Kuang raises many questions and concerns regarding the publishing industry, but the one that encapsulates the novel in my mind is the undeniable fact that Juniper “Song“ Hayward knowingly stole her frenemy's ideas. A fast and fiery read.
+61 points

62 likes

OutAndAbout

Yellowface | R F Kuang

pan

Just… no. I get it. The publishing industry sucks. But this story, which had so much promise and so many interesting ideas, felt too much like a whoa-is-me semi-autobiographical editorial that I‘m frustrated I spent time finishing it. And the ending was just not what it could have been. Sad waste of good publishing space.

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Same!! 3mo

perfectsinner Ohhh I've seen this one all over the place. It's tbr. 3mo

dabbe #fanofthepan! #betterbooksahead 🙌🏻 3mo

Twainy Pancakes … hilarious. 😆 3mo

35 likes4 comments

Decalino

Yellowface | R F Kuang

pick

June Hayward, a struggling novelist, takes advantage of the sudden death of her very successful friend Athena Liu to steal an unpublished manuscript. As June narrates the story of her rise to fame, it is clear her self-absorption and hubris will lead to disaster. The true feat of this gripping novel is that the author manages to humanize June, despite her many, many flaws, while Athena remains a mystery, seen only through the eyes of others.

29 likes

Bec_lectic

Yellowface | R F Kuang

bailed

I‘m bailing on this book. Made it half way through and just can‘t go on anymore. This book is like talking to one of your long winded friends on the phone where you can put the phone down, walk away for 10 minutes, and not miss a thing. Oh, and if you don‘t vote Democrat you‘re a facist and a racist. The MC is very unlikable and the whole social media basis of the book just makes me hate social media even more. I‘m out on this one ☝️ #hailthebail

dabbe YES! #betterbooksahead 🙌 4mo

33 likes1 comment

GatheringBooks

Yellowface | R F Kuang

#AboutABook Day 28: A book #YouveReread with my college kid last year when we decided to include this in our summer book club of two for our usual read-aloud. It was hilarious.

Eggs, Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Perfect 💛 4mo

Eggs Excellent 👌🏼 4mo

47 likes1 stack add2 comments

TheEllieMo

Yellowface | R F Kuang

so-so

There‘s some interesting things in here about racism in the publishing industry, but for me, the main character is too unlikeable, and the message of the book thrust too much in the reader‘s face, for me to enjoy the novel. I prefer something a little more subtle.

31 likes

JackOBotts

The Stolen Book of Evelyn Aubrey: A Novel | Serena Burdick

pick

⭐️⭐️⭐️ I was pulled in quickly and enjoyed seeing the timelines play out.

28 likes

monalyisha

Yellowface | R F Kuang

pick

I read this for my IRL book club. We also read The Plot this year, which is unfortunate because they‘re very similar. Yellowface is definitely more layered. I think it‘s a better book. When comparing the quality of the writing, however, I‘m not sure that Kuang‘s text is any stronger. 👇🏻

monalyisha 1/5: What‘s interesting is that she‘s created two characters, one a literary darling — an award-winner who speaks at length about her “process” and who pays particular attention to her sentences so that her words sing; the other, a less accomplished writer of genre fiction. I suspect Kuang (who I‘ve just learned is 28?!) falls somewhere in the middle. 5mo

monalyisha 2/5: I don‘t think she‘s Athena. But I don‘t think Yellowface is comparable to Athena‘s manuscript “The Last Front” (historical fiction about the Chinese Labor Corps during WWI), either. Different books call for different writing styles. I delighted in the indulgent nods to her speculative writing: ghosts & witches pop out from the corners. Still, I think Kuang‘s writing is strongest on a conceptual & philosophical level. And I think she knows it. 5mo

monalyisha 3/5: The pace of the narrative sags in the middle. When I reached June‘s disastrous teaching experience, I marveled, “How am I still reading this?” I would have appreciated some heavier editing; I think the novel could have been slimmer and just as weighty. 5mo

See All 7 Comments

monalyisha 4/5: Like The Plot, Yellowface asks probing questions about the nature of art and artifice and about the artists who create it. What is the line between fiction and lying? When does art imitate life and when does the act of making art become vampiric? To whom does a story “belong”? 5mo

monalyisha 5/5: I think Kuang accomplishes her goal of exposing the publishing world‘s dirt about how “diverse authors” are treated. And I think her reflections on the Own Voices movement, why it‘s important, and how badly and harmfully it can be misunderstood and misconstrued are the source of this book‘s power. She is subtle and blunt. Both approaches are necessary. She knows when to stomp and when to glissade. 5mo

PurpleyPumpkin Excellent review! I read this last year and it was a soft pick for me. But I think I‘m in the minority. I have The Plot on my TBR so good to know about the similarities of these two books! 5mo

monalyisha Thanks @PurpleyPumpkin ! I think it‘s a decisive “pick” for me…she just doesn‘t write my preferred kind of prose, so it won‘t top any favorites lists this year. 😊 5mo

56 likes7 comments

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