Yellowface in What's the Name of That Book???

Aug 24, 2023 Holly rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2023

4.5 - I've always given a little side eye to things described as "compulsively readable" but...I get it now. For the first 3/4 of the book I was an anxious wreck waiting for everything to fall apart. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Nov 12, 2023 junia rated it really liked it

Honestly, I REALLY enjoyed this book. All my other reader friends had issues with it and reviews haven’t been great so I’m waiting to see if I agree, but I would give this a solid 4.5 if not a 5. I’ll come back if I need to change my stars hahah

Anyway,

The premise was interesting and I liked the initially sympathetic narrator and I bought that she meant well, was eager, and was just typically ignorant. (Actually if I’m really honest, I thought this was a graphic novel written by Gene Luen Yang a Honestly, I REALLY enjoyed this book. All my other reader friends had issues with it and reviews haven’t been great so I’m waiting to see if I agree, but I would give this a solid 4.5 if not a 5. I’ll come back if I need to change my stars hahah

Anyway,

The premise was interesting and I liked the initially sympathetic narrator and I bought that she meant well, was eager, and was just typically ignorant. (Actually if I’m really honest, I thought this was a graphic novel written by Gene Luen Yang and it was a memoir. Then I looked up Athena Liu and realized I did not even know what I was going to read. I think that ALSO impacts a reading experience - what the reader think the context is. Usually that ruins a story for me, but this time it didn’t).

The resulting turn of events of every poor decision felt real. And June’s Achilles heel, which is her desire for significance (and maybe unresolved trauma), kept her going. And her whiteness and self-delusion kept her strangely afloat in addition to the publishing house’s ultimate desire for profit. If anything could we say the biggest villain was the publishing house or just plain capitalism? Tehe

At some point I realized that she’s a super unreliable narrator and as June slowly unhinges (from guilt), the ending is satisfying but ALSO real because when she stares her worst case scenario in the face, she knows how she’ll get away with it. It’s definitely a condemnation of society too.

I just disagree with ppl saying the characters weren’t fleshed out etc. I feel like it was such a fun way to explore all the different facets of Asia-inspired literature especially having grown reading a narrow version of such literature (The Good Earth, Amy Tan, Lisa See) and now starting to read a wider variety of literature written by and about the Asian (diaspora) experience.

I just remember reading so many Asian-set books I’ve read written by white women that are romanticized. And seeing it flesh out was so fun. I just liked this a lot from the perspective of a typically oblivious white lady (Kind of like Jk Rowling and Cho Chang)… written in modern times.

One of my friends said there was no growth in the protagonist but I feel like we as the reader grow. We just learn and realize…

Anywhooooooz. Yes! If you read it lmk! ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jun 08, 2023 Melinda Worfolk rated it really liked it

Shelves: women-authors, fiction, good-audio-books, ask-a-manager-recs, authors-of-colour, 2020-2024

A really good audiobook, kept me wanting to know what was going to happen next. The main character is an absolute train wreck. This book is saying…stuff…about…issues…like cultural appropriation, own voices, cancel culture, white fragility, but I’m not sure I always knew the author’s actual stance. Unreliable narrator for sure, but sometimes the authorial voice seems kind of sympathetic. I felt like there were a few too many false endings but overall I did think it wrapped up in a satisfyingish w ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jun 29, 2023 Melissa Rochelle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-2023

Loved reading the internal machinations of an author making questionable decisions and living with a massive secret.

1 like · Like · see review

Apr 22, 2024 Liz rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 3-star, adult-fiction

It was the fuck around of times, it was the find out of times.

This is a quick little read. The plot moves right along and readers feel like they're watching the main character lose her mind.

The ending wasn't predictable, but it wasn't surprisng either, and it didn't show any growth on June's part.

Though interesting and compelling in some ways, not one I would reread. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Dec 04, 2023 Marigold rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: literary-fiction, satire, fiction-2020-2030, thriller, bipoc-writers, kindle-read

Oh my goodness, this book! So much fun. It's a satire about racial diversity in the publishing industry. It's a somewhat heavy handed condemnation of social media as it relates to books. It's a wild ride of accidental death, plagiarism, cultural appropriation, anxiety, and bad choices through the eyes of June, our unreliable narrator. (Oh, one of my favorite things!) It's supremely funny - in a very cringe way - and yet can be described as a psychological thriller, for sure! I read it in under 2 ...more

Like · see review

Feb 14, 2024 Cindy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I wanted more!

Like · see review

Jul 25, 2023 ashwini rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A very meta book for the author, I’m sure. As a non-writer, learning about the inanities of the esoteric world of publishing was super interesting and not a little bit disturbing!

Like · see review