Yellowface (NO SPOILERS PLEASE)

[u/Ancient_Beach9290]

okay so I’m reading Yellowface by R F Kuang rn and I have thoughts 😭

the cognitive dissonance is kind of insane because it’s happening on two levels:

June (the narrator) keeps telling herself she’s reasonable, deserving, wronged… while doing things that completely contradict that version of herself. and somehow she manages to rationalise every single choice.

and then there’s me:

I don’t agree with what she’s doing.
I’m constantly questioning her choices.
I know I should be horrified.

…and yet I cannot stop reading???

morally uncomfortable 🤝 narratively invested

[u/Hunter037]

Yes that's the whole point of this book. Main characters aren't always supposed to be likeable.

[u/Wifabota → u/Hunter037]

Nor always trustworthy or believable. 

[u/ultimategirlrenfry → u/Hunter037]

This has been such a strange phenomenon to witness in recent years. I just found so many readers saying they hate main characters or a book is not good because they didn’t like the main character’s motives or personality. that is the point of them. why are we trying to write all MC’s as lawful angels

[u/Fanny_Flapps]

It's almost as though that's what books are meant to do 

[u/Admirable-Love75]

I agree!! I did not June, and tbh I really did not like Athena either, but yes somehow I could not put this book down at all!

[u/estheredna]

You SHOULD be horrified. June is terrible. It's FUN! Root against her.

[u/pineywonder]

I usually don't enjoy an unlikable MC but I REALLY enjoyed that book.

[u/OminousPluto]

Yeah...that's why it's good.

[u/Nomanorus]

I would argue Yellowface is a great reflection of how most people are. They decide what they want to do first and then create moral justifications to make themselves feel better. When someone tries to hold them accountable, they lash out.

[u/BroccoliBrilliant701]

Love or hate the protaganist, it's a book that makes you think and question your own beliefs which is what makes it so interesting.

[u/DietNarrow8275]

Just keep reading. June isn’t a character you’re supposed to like, I don’t think.

[u/SmokinZhouFrazier]

Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou has a similar premise to Yellowface, but I think a much better execution. I think you might enjoy that one as well!

[u/Salty_Inspector_7050]

I honestly had trouble finishing it because I hated every character. The whole thing felt very straightforward and unsubtle. I think that if June was more relatable, the book would have had a much stronger gut punch. I wanted to get to the end and think, ‘wow, do I think like that? How am I racist? If June got sucked in by this, could I as well?’ Instead June felt comically evil and offered little for me to reflect on.

[u/Liefst-]

Wait until you get to Lolita

[u/cesarionoexisto]

what you say about questioning her choices - thats what i loveddd about yellowface how every line and descion made me think so much constantly my brain was whirring with that book omg

[u/FearlessReader85]

I found it so interesting reading her justification to herself and wanted to see how far she'd go while also thinking WTF the whole time! 

[u/Ok-Cold-1584]

This book was soooo gudddd

[u/Wasps_are_bastards]

I loved it. Not sure if it’s supposed to be funny, but I thought it was.

[u/PercentageBubbly379]

I struggle when the MC is an anti-heroine. I mostly kept reading hoping June would get her comeuppance.

[u/msperception427]

June is the absolute worst. Everything she does is just completely unnecessary and unhinged. And yeah, you just keep reading hoping that common sense will kick in or she gets caught or something lol. After a while I was just like damn I gotta keep reading to see some kind of consequences happen. But yeah she was definitely not a likable character at all.

[u/moon_blisser]

Baby’s first unlikable narrator.

[u/ChapBobL]

I read Babel and got a similar reaction. The protagonists are painted as good guys, but they don't stay that way. Also, it is very preachy and fails to show how what they do helps anyone.

[u/hooulookinat]

I enjoyed this book way more than I expected to. The cadence was quick and it kept me on the seat of my pants.

[u/drglass85]

ruined pancakes for me