It took me a while to finish this book. Longer than I'd like to admit. Partly because engineering can get exhausting; sometimes all you want to do is sit still and stare into the void. And also because this book allows you to take breaks.
Yellowface - by Rebecca F. Kuang
Unlike many books that demand emotional stamina, this one pauses. Not every book offers to halt its flavour for your comfort. There are books that get you emotionally invested, and books that slowly get you in the zone. We've all binge-read books, if not series, simply because it lured you into an all-consuming world. Yellowface isn't a lot of things, and it certainly is not bait. It probably isn't something you would find everyone mentioning, and it doesn't leave you with characters to love. But it reminds you, in all gory detail, about the parts of you that'd have inevitably surfaced at times.
Every century has had its patron cause. The 19th and early 20th centuries were about women's suffrage, a major part of the 20th century went into patronizing equality and independence movements. And let's be honest, for the 21st century, it is diversity.
Diversity in Asia is weird. "You're Asian, how wonderful! You seem yellow, but not yellow enough. What's with the brown overcoat?"
Colour, ethnicity, creed - things the 20th century patrons probably wanted to deglorify through equality, but things that 21st century patrons glorify. Sure, DEI measures have brought a lot of underrepresented, underrated artists and technicians to the spotlight they deserve. But how truly diverse are these measures? Does diversity really boil down to bring the world a non-western version of white?
If one sympathises with the dead character, or hates the narrator for what she did, it's human. For we all did to someone or to ourselves what June did. And that is why this book stands out. You can never truly hate the character, even though every incident screams in your face. I've given hate to a lot of fictional characters, especially newer ones. I remember adding this book to my tbr after watching a YouTuber review it and talk about how much she hated the main character.
What people don't realise is, all writers are inevitably crafting stories through others' pain. Pain makes you a great artist, but nobody said it has to be your own. It's like questioning historians whether or not they lived through the World Wars to critique it. We all inherit an insatiable need to comment on events - few are brave enough to vocabularise it. And that's why I think both the characters in this book are merely reflections of each other - one with privileges clocking in at the right time, and the other having to face unglorified battles of everyday life.
A worthy read, overall.
Amazing!
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