Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

<p>The novel <strong>Yellowface</strong> by R. F. Kuang, a satirical thriller that explores themes of <strong>literary theft</strong>, <strong>cultural appropriation</strong>, and the dark side of social media. The story follows <strong>June Hayward</strong>, a struggling white author who witnesses the freak accidental death of her vastly more successful friend, <strong>Athena Liu</strong>, a Chinese American literary darling. Seizing a momentary opportunity, June steals Athena’s unpublished masterpiece about the <strong>Chinese Labour Corps</strong> and publishes it as her own work under the ethnically ambiguous pen name <strong>Juniper Song</strong>. The narrative detail June’s extensive <strong>rewriting process</strong>, the complicity of the <strong>publishing industry</strong> in rebranding her identity for profit, and her increasingly desperate attempts to justify her actions. As the book nears publication, June must navigate a landscape of <strong>marketing deception</strong> while living in fear that her fraud will be exposed. These chapters ultimately present a sharp critique of <strong>diversity in publishing</strong> and the psychological cost of achieving fame through deception.</p>