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holly b | bookcooklook
@bookcooklook

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“She was mortal after all … And in destroying her, we create an audience; we create moral authority for ourselves.” 📒 Yellowface is this summer’s blockbuster: a darkly comic, wildly entertaining novel that unsparingly skewers the publishing industry, performativity, inauthentic representation and cancel culture. Meet June, a Yale grad and would-be novelist who is saddled with a failed first book and an envious, self pitying personality. June’s college frenemy Athena, on the other hand, is a literary wunderkind, darling of the industry and object of June’s venomous jealousy. When June unexpectedly witnesses Athena’s sudden death, she makes the split second decision to steal Athena’s nearly-finished manuscript, a deeply researched magnum opus on WWI Chinese laborers. Affecting a new, ethnically ambiguous name, June publishes the novel herself - resulting in dramatic success and a sinister, spiraling conclusion that kept me turning pages until the end. 📒 So many villains! I loved hating them all! What fun deciding who I despised most - besides, obviously, June. Athena? The publishers? The Hollywood film rights guys? The bookstagrammers (*gasp*)? Twitter? THE INTERNET?!? I usually need to love, or at least root for, my protagonist - but sometimes rooting against her can be just as satisfying. Aside from the social commentary, I found fascinating June’s complete lack of remorse, certainty of entitlement and warped view of victimization. If you need a break from summer romances, look no further than this dark, wild and sharply original story. 📒 There is an especially well-executed scene where June finds herself speaking before an elderly Chinese social club about “her” book, followed by an ever-so-fleeting crisis of conscience. The club has a buffet of Chinese food that disgusts June, ever unaware of her prejudices and performative behavior. Here’s a delish spread of the kind of Chinese dishes that June reviles: pineapple fried rice, General Tso’s chicken and egg drop soup (direct Chinese translation is egg flower). Bon appetit Junie - stay away from the pandan! 📒 @reesesbookclub @kuangrf @williammorrow #yellowface #bookcooklook #bookcooklookproject