R.F. Kuang’s latest novel, Yellowface, has been everywhere recently. And for good reason. The book is a twisty, compelling read, with characters you’ll love to hate and a healthy dose of publishing industry critique.
In this post, I’ll be reviewing Yellowface and chatting about the book from a writing craft perspective. In particular, Kuang’s knack for unlikable characters that are still compelling. Love to loathe.
But first…
What Is Yellowface about?
Yellowface follows June Heyward, a down-on-her-luck writer who is desperate for the success of her friend/rival Athena Liu. After June witnesses a freak accident that leads to Athena’s untimely death, she acts on impulse and steals Athena’s unpublished manuscript.
After editing the novel and adding her own flair, June publishes the book under her own name. Well, not quite. No one will buy a book about the efforts of Chinese labourers during World War One from a white author. June’s publishers assist her to rebrand as Juniper Song, an ethnically ambiguous author with a passion for telling the untold stories of history. Someone has to, so why not her?
The book is a smash hit, catapulting June to the kind of stardom she’s dreamed of. But as Athena’s shadow looms over June’s newfound success and information about her lies threatens the world she’s carefully built, June must decide how far she’s willing to go to protect her secret.
My thoughts on Yellowface
This was my first R.F. Kuang book, but it certainly won’t be the last. Her writing was immersive and clever. I found myself unable to stop reading, needing to know what was going to happen next.
As Kuang herself has said in interviews (Shameless Book club has an excellent podcast interview), this isn’t the type of book she could have debuted with. It’s taken time to build up her experiences in the publishing industry, which she now uses in Yellowface to satirically critique the industry. The book asks questions such as: Who has the right to tell which stories? What does it mean to write about the ‘other’ in an ethical way? And what role does publishing have in uplifting the voices of marginalised authors?
In particular, Yellowface critiques the marketing machine of the publishing industry and its penchant for ‘chosen’ authors. As Kuang (and many others) have noted: the success of one’s book rarely has anything to do with the quality of prose.
The book unpacks a range of ethical questions about representation. It is worth noting that Kuang herself has noted the Irony of her main character being white when she herself is not. This is a deliberate choice by Kuang, who believes that writers should be able to write about characters who are different from themselves – in nuanced and well-researched ways. Yellowface is definitely both of those things.
Unlikable characters: A case study.
June Heyward is undeniably awful. Her choices are unethical, she’s racist and enacts a calculated sense of entitlement which is chilling. But she’s also a compelling character, who forces the reader to continue reading, regardless of the discomfort her perspective causes.
Athena isn’t much better. While she is certainly the victim of the book in some regards, in other ways she’s still awful. Relishing her own publishing success, she refuses to assist emerging writers from her own community, viewing them with contempt. Her own writing practice is plagued with its own ethical issues around consent and privacy.
Often, if readers don’t like a character, especially the protagonist, they’ll set the book aside. So what is it about these characters, that makes them work on the page?
First Person POV
Yellowface is written entirely in the first-person perspective. The advantage of this perspective is that it allows for deep immersion from the readers. Because we’re in June’s head, we have access to all her thoughts, emotions and justifications.
This can be deeply uncomfortable as she has some awful thoughts. But it also means that readers understand that she’s working with her sense of logic and justification – though she’s horrible, one can’t claim that June is unreasonable.
Kuang plays off the reader’s desire to see June transformed or brought to justice. This puts us at odds even as we listen to her. In some ways we’re put in the place of June – just as she listened unwillingly to Athensa’s success, we listen to June’s and privately hope for her downfall.
Often, unlikable characters are shown through the eyes of the likable character. They’re unknowable. But it’s through the knowing that people are shown to be more complicated and interesting as a result.
As we seek to understand why June acts the way she does, we’re read on and uncover the source of her motivations – because we understand her to be a whole (if awful) person. Even if we don’t agree with her actions or justifications, we know there is be something deeper driving her to do what she does.
She presents as a rational, considered person who is difficult to outright dismiss. As a result, the reader may even mind themselves identifying with June in some regards — especially if they’re involved in any way with the publishing industry.
If Yellowface had been written in the third person perspective, I’m not sure it would have been as effective at connecting us to June.
Uncertainty of reality
As June grapples with what she’s done and consequences begin to arise, there are moments of questioning her grasp on reality. This causes the reader to question their own judgement – have we misjudged June? What are we missing?
The asking and reasking of these questions compels readers onward and they seek information to inform (or justify) their judgements of the characters. We want to be able to make up our minds, but there’s a voice that whispers that we don’t have all the information… yet. Until we do, we need to read on.
What does this mean for your book?
Let it be clear, Kuang is an experienced writer who has made clever choices that suit the story she’s trying to tell. An unlikable protagonist may not be the right choice for your story but there’s no reason you can’t have a go. Stretch those creative muscles! And read Yellowface to be inspired by what is possible when it comes to characterisation.
- Choose the perspective that suits your story, the information you want the reader to have, and your characters. All perspectives have their own advantages and disadvantages, but being deeply immersed in an unlikable character’s head seems key to forging a compelling connection with the reader — so give first person a go.
- Play with the reader’s desire to understand a character. What can you do to cause them to ask/re-ask questions about the character? Very often this involves interactions with others or choices the character makes.
Writing exercise:
Practice makes perfect! Grab a pen and paper (or open a new tab on your computer!) and take 10 minutes now to write a scene from the perspective of an unlikable character. I’ve given some prompts below to get you started.
Don’t have time right now? No stress. Use the sharing buttons to save or send this post to yourself for later.
Remember, the goal isn’t to make the character likable but to make the reader feel connected – like this character is engaging and interesting. This can be an uncomfortable place to write from, but a useful creative exercise.
This activity is just for you. It’s okay if the words aren’t perfect, you’re just stretching your creative muscles. Of course, if you want to do it with a writing buddy and swap, that can be a great strategy to evaluate and discuss what is working and what areas you could further develop.
Prompts:
- Your character is running late for work, and the boss calls them into their office. What happens next?
- Your character interacts with a door-to-door salesperson.
- Imagine your character has lost something, how will they get it back?
Steph Huddleston 