Yellowface by R F Kuang - BOTM Mar-Apr 2024

[Savita]

Ahtims wrote: "Yes, June is quite strong mentally. Most people would have been in a very bad condition. She withstands almost everything said and written about her. Perhaps her ability of self delusion and being ..."

It's amazing , Ahtims , how many times ( It's not so infrequently found in real life ) a person , say XYZ , who is self centered, intolerant of the deserved good fortune of others , and unnecessarily mean and nasty to people who happen ( unfortunately ) to be dependent on him / her ( ie XYZ ) , rushes regularly to temples / places of worship, and offers flowers , sweets , money , gold , and comes away satisfied and content that all is well . God's blessings are no doubt going to pour down from an mpressed Heaven ! 🙄 . Does XYZ really believe that the Almighty is spiritually blind and deaf ? Do the religious teachings , rich literature and other good art not leave an imprint on their foolish , self deceiving minds ? Are their cocoons so impervious and resistant ? Will they learn only by the hard and harsh way ? And in the interim spoil the lives of vulnerable people in their vicinity ? I dislike hypocrisy. 😟

[Ahtims]

Sorry to say, but hypocrisy and selecrive blindness and deafness is what runs todays world.
Without it, many a person wont be able to live with themselves.

[Savita]

Ahtims wrote: "Sorry to say, but hypocrisy and selecrive blindness and deafness is what runs todays world.
Without it, many a person wont be able to live with themselves."

Hmm ... it's no use denying the unpalatable truth in your statement , Ahtims . It's the truth , plain and simple . And yet , in an effort to leave the issue on a bit optimistic note , I will venture to mention a personal observation / agree with ohers who have stated likewise : There is a percent of humanity ( maybe around 60 % ) who , though they do err , they are amenable to good inspiration ( which may come from surrounding human beings , real life stories, newspaper reports , religious teachings explained by a good mentor/ radio jockeys / TV anchors { like in programs like Black and White of Aaj Tak, and DNA of Zee news } , etc ) . These people do respond ... some soon , some later . And this is heartening. 🕯🪔🕯.
I do hope you and our other participating members will not completely deny the truth in what I've said . Actually , while reading this book, out of all of you I have been the least tolerant and flexible in passing judgment on June's misbehavior. You all have shown greater kindness and understanding in trying to analyze her behavior . So , I think most of you will not completely disagree with me .

[Ahtims]

I dont disagree with you. Personally I try not to be a hypocrite, though sometimes I find it very difficult. I try to acknowledge my behavior and reminsece upon it.

[Savita]

Ahtims wrote: "I dont disagree with you. Personally I try not to be a hypocrite, though sometimes I find it very difficult. I try to acknowledge my behavior and reminsece upon it."

So well said , and honestly ! I appreciate your message , Ahtims! I fully agree .... sometimes it does become inevitable to take the cover of hypocrisy, or , for that matter, take refuge in the untruth ( especially when this may actually and genuinely be for the greater good ) .

[Savita]

I am reading chapter 18 . The story continues to be interesting. It's not worth going through so much of ☆☆Beware Spoilers (view spoiler)[ emotional tension following a wrong act . The day to day blessings that we enjoy so much ( sipping a hot cup of tea , watching a favorite TV show , going for a pleasant walk ....... ) all suddenly disappear. Fear, anxiety, terror, cold sweat ...... instead , tenaciously grip and choke our soul . There is continual denial of guilt and build up of false justifications. Is it all worth it ? Oh for the days when the soul was at peace , was light and happy instead of being weighed down by horror . 🤔

June admits that , while talking to Mrs Liu , she ( June ) has , " contorted the truth into such ways that I can , in fact , make peace with it . " . And , " I am skilled in words I know how to lie without lying . " . So , is June including that highest court upstairs among her impressed and gullible audience ? 🤨 Well ! Well ! Little June still has many things to learn 🤔 ! (hide spoiler)] ☆☆

[Savita]

I am reading chapter 21 now . At last June ☆☆Beware Spoilers (view spoiler)[ owns up to herself at least that .... " .... the thing is that I did steal The Last Front , and I am riddled with guilt . " . That's nice . It was so irritating when she was blatantly denying her guilt .
How she's being hounded and haunted !!!! I wonder who's doing it .... looks like it's not Geoffrey ( Athena 's ex boyfriend ) this time . 🤔 Hmm .... (hide spoiler)] .
The book continues to be a 4 or 5 star read for me , so far .

[Savita]

I have finished Yellow face. Loved the novel .... the end wasn't too disappointing for me , but I will make a few comments tomorrow. It's a 4 star read for me . 🌟🌟🌟🌟

[Ahtims]

Same rating for me too.

[Tarinee]

Glad you liked it for me also the story was going a 5 star read ..but disappointed by the meshy ending … as the common consensus is on the ending ..I am curious if the beta readers didn’t pointed this out to kung ..too meshy and weak even to call the ending passable

[Savita]

Ahtims wrote: "Same rating for me too."

👍 @ Ahtims and Tarinee . Actually , I wasn't very disappointed by the end . Okay , so ☆☆Beware Spoilers (view spoiler)[ Diana passing off as Athena was possible if the height and build were more or less the same , and she deliberately wore Athena type of clothes . But , I didn't get how Candice got Athena 's password, and , also , how she managed to sound like Athena at the dreadful meeting place . Then , often the voice was coming from one direction, while the footsteps from another direction . The author didn't explain satisfactorily .
Were Diana and Candice working together to get a confession from June , or each had an independent strategy ?

But , I must say , June was one tough person ! At one point she was even considering suicide ... but she rapidly comes out of it with marvelous resilience, and she's already planning her next book , through which she hopes to get her back on Diana and Candice !! Talk about remorse , talk about repentance !! Oh no , nothing of the sort for our tough little protagonist . Back she bounces , all ready to fight back so self righteously !! If there was some remorse , some repentance .... I would have found myself wanting to forgive her . But not this hardcore business woman who seems want the spotlight on herself primarily , writing is just a way to achieve this . I don't believe she has got a real passion for writing itself , a real love for this beautiful art .... all June wants is the fame and the spotlight . She is no Charles Dickens or Charlotte Bronte . Those authors really loved the magical world of weaving words to move the human soul .
(hide spoiler)] ☆☆ The novel was really good , though the end was a little flawed .

[Siddharth]

SPOILERS GALORE:

(view spoiler)[ I don't think Diana intended to haunt June by dressing up like Athena, but rather it was June's guilt (possibly a pinch of racism to go along with it) that made her think she was Athena? That was at least what I remember thinking though I may have missed something. I read almost the last 100 pages in one stretch.

The final confrontation with Candice was staged in a filmy way, I guess, with voices coming from different directions. I imagined that Candice had recorded some standard responses in her Athena impression (or could she have played audio clippings from Athena's interviews?) and had placed speakers at different points, to create the effect of a ghost. I think whenever a line was repeated, it came from the same point, or am I misrembering? Each device must be playing one audio clipping then, if that is the case. Just how she managed to operate each speaker individually is anybody's guess. The running around in opposite directions was again done to make June believe Athena's ghost was really there, I guess. I think Candice gave some explanation as to how she got hold of Athena's account - she knew the publicist for Athena who managed her social media, was that it?

June showed some remorse at the confrontation with Candice (when she thought she was speaking to Athena). That and the chapters when she recalled what Athena had done to her in college and the one with June and her mom were the only times I found June to be actually human and something more than a caricature.

I wasn't too disappointed by the end either, maybe because I was expecting it after reading the comments here. I liked the confrontation scene with Candice, but I'd have liked an ending where either Candice or June dies and the other gets away with it, in line with the spirit of the book (June's death at the hands of Candice might have been some twisted sort of justice, but the other way around might have been more in keeping with the book and the ending Kuang chose, but darker). (hide spoiler)]

[Anulekha]

(view spoiler)[ The book also tries to show that all the writers, be it June or Candice, just wanted a bestseller that would keep them significant for a long time in the publishing industry. They were ready to do anything for that. I did not like that aspect of the story.
June is shown to depend entirely on Athena by the end, even for starting a new work. I felt Athena's work ethic was also made questionable to justify June's actions. However, even Candice, shown as righteous in the beginning, is reduced to another person trying to make it into the writing industry by pulling others down (hide spoiler)].

[Savita]

Siddharth wrote: "SPOILERS GALORE:

I don't think Diana intended to haunt June by dressing up like Athena, but rather it was June's guilt (possibly a pinch of racism to go along with it) that made her think she wa..."

Hmm .... thanks , Siddharth , for the possible explanations . I think I have missed a few points while reading the closing pages .

[Savita]

Anulekha wrote: " The book also tries to show that all the writers, be it June or Candice, just wanted a bestseller that would keep them significant for a long time in the publishing industry. They were ready to do..."

Yes , Anulekha , I agree with your points . Just a disgusting rat race ! Of course , if a person 's livelihood itself is writing , I suppose it is understandable that there's great anxiety that the book should do well . But , here , as in any other field of life , certain moral ethics have to be followed . You can't do away with common decency and grace . In the long run such a behavior becomes incompatible with acceptance by society . Truth does have a way of surfacing, in the long run , no matter how many layers of deception and slyness are used to cover it .