Thoughts on Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

I recently finished Yellowface by R.F. Kuang while I was getting my hair done. While I thought the writing was amazing and kept me engaged, I was also very torn on my thoughts about the main story. I felt that the main character June was fantastic (in a writing way) and really showed what goes throughs someone's head when they do something like this, I also thought the social media angle and the cut throat publishing world was a very interesting way to tell this story.

Despite all of these amazing qualities I felt that the questions raised by Athena's character, who I consider the dual protagonist, were brushed away as rationalization for June's and other actions. I remember after one chapter thinking about who really has the right to tell certain stories, is it ethical to use the words of others or tell other people's stories and make money off of them. I felt that it was a nice parallel to the main conflict and June's actions as they both profit of each other stories if they had deciding to go that angle. I also felt that the internet played almost as its own character, and while being a relatable addition, felt personally charged, which could just be Kuang's writing but it kind of pulled me out of the story.

My thoughts are further complicated as the story is from June's perspective and the words that come out of her mind are not to be trusted as we can see that she twists and rationalizes her actions for her own piece of mind. Even when she is clearly in the wrong. So hearing about Athena's "wrongdoings" from June, as well as her describing the other characters, makes it hard to find answers to those questions. I feel very torn about the book and I could write my own book about my thoughts on it. Let me know what your thoughts are and if any of you felt the same way..