Questions About Yellowface

by R.F. Kuang (Goodreads Author)

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Answered Questions (20)

Anyone care to discuss the ending? Will Juniper's spin succeed?

Cari For most of the book, June is scared that people will condemn her for what she did. But what June ultimately realizes is that in the publishing indust…moreFor most of the book, June is scared that people will condemn her for what she did. But what June ultimately realizes is that in the publishing industry only sales matter. Her agent seems to have known all along she did not write the books. Her publisher only cared if there were legal repercussions against them. In the end, she finally understood that no one cared about morals or ethics as long as she had a book that sold well: bad publicity is still publicity, controversy fuels sales, etc. Most importantly, she also realized she has no other story to tell: she has no original ideas and no desire to research new topics. In other words, she considers herself a writer but she does not want to engage with the writing proccess. She is not interested to do the hard work that writing her own, original, material would entail. So she has nothing to lose by continuing to profit from the scandal. Based on the initial offer for Candice's story, her book is expected to sell very well. June knows she can leech off that success (the advise of her agent "strike while is hot") by producing a counternarrative. If its legally viable to publish it and it seems likely to generate revenue, someone will publish it.
Whether it succeeds will entirely depend on whether the readers are willing to go along with her. As I see it, the end of the novel is a nod to readers' responsibility: the books we choose to buy send a strong message to publishers and authors regarding what's important to us as readers and consumers. (less)

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Is it some sort of meta-joke that a book about plagiarising another author's work seems to have taken its plot, almost beat for beat, from another author's work (the -in my opinion- way superior About the Author by John Colapinto)?

Kelly I’m halfway through Yellowface screaming on the inside that I’ve read this book about stealing a book already in The Plot by Korelitz.

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This question contains spoilers... (view spoiler)

Susan Cippele I thought it was because June’s story showed a strained mother/daughter relationship. And Mrs Liu doesn’t think her relationship with Athena had that …moreI thought it was because June’s story showed a strained mother/daughter relationship. And Mrs Liu doesn’t think her relationship with Athena had that negativity (less)

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Were Athena& June ever friends or was it just a ploy for her to steal some of June's feelings and emotions and write it into a book?

NB details supporting Athena's friendship
-monthly/quarterly hangouts --> difficult to do this as an adult, especially for randos
-offered empathy for June…moredetails supporting Athena's friendship
-monthly/quarterly hangouts --> difficult to do this as an adult, especially for randos
-offered empathy for June's frustrations in life --> encouraged her to keep trying
-referred her to a therapist when she broke down --> cares about her emotional well being
-let June know about big news before anyone else, and celebrated with her instead of others like her mother --> implies trust
-gossiped about people and things she didn't like in the industry --> implies trust
-let June see her manuscript --> implies trust
-was pretty normal in the one real time memory we have of her

details supporting Athena's lack of friendship
-didn't listen well to the details of June's life --> debatable, if she's drunk she wouldn't be able to think clearly, but yeah, June didn't feel heard/seen
-had a tendency to mine for raw emotions --> left June more guarded
-more selectively showed June all the good things happening in her life, instead of being more real with her --> could be seen as bragging
-despite her influence, did not connect June with anyone --> her empathy might feel insincere
-ex boyfriend says Athena spoke behind June's back and called her a loser --> untrustworthy

details supporting June's toxicity in the relationship
-couldn't be happy for her friend
-didn't confront/communicate with Athena about short story, let resentment grow as if nothing happened
-has no friends beyond Athena, may have had higher, unrealistic, expectations of her
-expected a busy woman, who gets drunk easily to remember details of her day to day life
-wasn't actually interested in putting in effort to improve writing or research topics outside her life. just liked to complain about how her life wasn't fair
-couldn't take constructive criticism; likely also added to lack of improvement in writing
-expected success to be spoon-fed to her, likely through Athena's connections, and then through her manuscript
-extremely pretentious/narcissistic. Thought Athena's manuscript was a rudimentary draft not fit for publication, but then the most heavily criticized parts of the book were edits she made. Edits that were inaccurate, insensitive, or contradictory.
-extremely manipulative. Pretended to be her best friend to the outside world, prevented her mother from publishing her notebooks, accepted invites only for clout not because she actually supported the community, pretended to be afraid of the ex boyfriend only to blackmail him

Overall it seemed to me like she was a better friend than June, who was insecure, jealous, and resentful. She tried her best to be there, but didn't go out of her way to hold June's hand every step of the way. When June tastes success later in the story, she doesn't actually help anyone either. She tells her mentee, Emily, that she has it made as a diversity hire, rips another mentee, Skylar, to shreds out of personal resentment, ignores people who want to network with her, and chats with only the A-listers of the company. In comparison, Athena just told her to believe in herself. As for stealing June's emotions, since June was pretty guarded after freshman year in college, I don't think she was really stealing any of her emotions after that(less)

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Is this book considered a thriller?

Nikolay

This answer contains spoilers… (view spoiler)

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