Yellowface summary by Rebecca F. Kuang: A Sharp Satire on Race, Privilege, and Publishing

Published by William Morrow, HarperCollins, 2024

Yellowface summary

This “Yellowface summary” explores Rebecca F. Kuang’s incendiary 2023 novel about June Hayward, a white author who steals an unfinished manuscript from her deceased rival, Athena Liu, and publishes it as her own. The novel masterfully dissects cultural appropriation, racial power dynamics, and moral decay in the publishing industry.

Overview

Yellowface (2023) is a provocative literary novel by R.F. Kuang, acclaimed author of Babel and The Poppy War trilogy. With sharp satire and thrilling drama, Yellowface explores themes of cultural appropriation, racism, authorship, and the toxic side of the publishing industry.

The novel asks: What happens when a white woman steals an Asian author’s manuscript—and claims it as her own?

Main Characters

• June Hayward: A struggling white writer desperate for success. Insecure and embittered by her failures.
• Athena Liu: A brilliant, bestselling Chinese American author—and June’s former classmate. Charismatic and wildly successful.
• Candice Lee: A sensitive editor who begins to suspect something’s off with June’s manuscript.
• The Industry: Publishing houses, reviewers, readers, and Twitter mobs—portrayed almost like characters in themselves.

Plot Summary

When bestselling author Athena Liu dies in a freak accident, June Hayward is the only witness. In the chaos, she impulsively steals Athena’s unpublished manuscript—a powerful historical novel about Chinese laborers in World War I.

June edits the manuscript, adds her name (now writing as Juniper Song), and sells it to a major publisher. It becomes a literary sensation. But as the book gains acclaim, questions begin to arise: about its voice, its authenticity, and June’s true identity.

As June tries to maintain her lie, she faces mounting public backlash, online threats, and deepening paranoia. Her narrative grows increasingly unreliable. Is she a misunderstood genius—or a manipulative thief?

The novel builds to a chilling conclusion that examines truth, erasure, and the cost of fame.

Key Themes

• Racism in Publishing: Kuang exposes the performative diversity efforts of the industry and how marketing weaponizes identity.
• Morality and Justification: June constantly rewrites the story of her actions, justifying theft as tribute, exposing the delusions of privilege.
• Cancel Culture & Online Rage: The novel captures the ferocity and fickleness of internet discourse and literary Twitter.
• Unreliable Narration: Told from June’s first-person perspective, the story reveals her deep denial and self-deception.

Yellowface is part literary thriller, part social commentary, and part psychological study. R.F. Kuang uses humor, tension, and a sharp narrative voice to pull readers into a disturbing—but compelling—world of stolen stories and hollow success.

This is a must-read for anyone interested in race, power, and ethics in storytelling.

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