“Writing is the closest thing we have to real magic. Writing is creating something out of nothing, is opening doors to other lands. Writing gives you power to shape your own world when the real one hurts too much.”
― R.F. Kuang, Yellowface
Yellowface is the practice of white actors using makeup to play Asian roles with “yellow” referring to the color of the skin makeup. This practice has been popular since the start of movies in Hollywood. In fact, German-American actor Luise Rainer won an Academy Award for her lead role as a Chinese peasant in 1937’s movie adaptation of The Good Earth. She wore a black wig and facial makeup to make her look Asian. The eminently talented Chinese-American Anna Mae Wong was passed up for the role. The Asian community often criticized Wong for taking roles that perpetuated stereotypes of Asian women; however, those were the only roles offered to her. Among other reasons, Hollywood studios did not feel that the American public would accept an Asian in lead roles. Almost a century later, Asian Americans can now be seen in some movies and lead roles, but the practice of Yellowface continues with complicated reactions and emotions from all sides of the debate.
In her book, Yellowface, R.F. Kuang plays with this idea of a white person taking on a “yellow” or Asian persona. She offers a biting criticism of the publishing industry and social media that illustrates the complexities of the issues of racism.
The main character, June Hayward, is white. She steals the draft of a novel from Chinese-American Athena Liu. The novel is set in China. What will June Hayward do to succeed in the world of publishing? How far will she go? How will she deal with the issues of cultural appropriation? Will anyone find out?
Yellowface is a riveting novel narrated by the main character, June Hayward. As she talks to us through the novel, we hear her thoughts and justifications. We love and hate her. We see the scary parts of ourselves and the scary parts of humanity. The tension of the storyline keeps us reading to find out what happens next. While fiction is not real, the novel leaves us pondering the real-world complexities of racism, publishing, and social media.
“Reading lets us live in someone else’s shoes. Literature builds bridges; it makes our world larger, not smaller.”
― R.F. Kuang, Yellowface
Yellowface by R. F. Kuang is a thriller. I couldn’t put it down.