"Morrow Buys Kuang's Yellowface" read the headline for Publisher Weekly's Deals of the Week in 2021. Nearly three years later (and a waitlist 168 people long for the digital audiobook-- doubled for the hardcover!) I finally got my hands on it. I was luck to be hired into a library system that celebrated Yellowface with various programs and activities leading up to R.F. Kuang's Community Reads visit. One of those activities included a book club that had me reflecting on the book much more than I initially did after finishing it two months ago. I absolutely hated June Hayward. While others in the club held some contempt for the fictional author, I was surprised by how some members were able to sympathize with her. It is my belief that every character means something. Writers are not only storytellers, but wise wizards that hide their lessons within their characters. Some lessons are obvious, some are subtle. Some are good, some are not as good. And so, I started mining Yellowface for what I could learn from June. A tale of two authorsYellowface by RF Kuang tells the story of two authors: One famous and one not so famous. One with a talent for words, and the other unable to find her words. One Asian ("exotic"), and the other white ("basic"). But, as June narrates: "for this story to make sense, you should know two things about Athena: Frist, she has everything… Second, perhaps as a consequence of the first, she has almost no friends” (p. 1) From the very first page of this first person narrative, we are emersed into a Athena Liu’s life as seen by June Hayward, a “plain, straight white girl from Philly” (p. 256) who, throughout the novel, gives us a front seat to her assiduous envy and girl-crush on Athena. "A perfect combination of classical and exotic,” Athena is “tall and razor thin, graceful in the way all former ballet dancers are, porcelain pale and possessed of these massive, long-lashed brown eyes that make her look like a Chinese Anne Hathaway” (p.5). She controls a an audience with her infectious aura and beauty. She lures them with her words. Athena Liu is everything June Hayward is not.
Despite her envy of Athena and new found fame because of Athena, June maintains that she is not at all problematic. Instead, she blames her critics. “I never lied,” June says. “That's important. I never pretended to be Chinese or made up experiences that I didn't have… and if anyone makes assumptions, or connects the dots the wrong way, doesn't that say far more about them than me?” (62) June continues to roll with everything her new identity has gotten her: fame, friends, notoriety regardless of how its earned— “I was willing to make myself the villain for the sake of entertainment” and ”White lady publishes tell-all! June Hayward writes the memoir none of us wanted, because this psycho just can't stop” (p 318). Never have I hated a character as much as I hated June...and that is a testament to RF Kuang’s writing! While I did not hate the book, but I was invested in the story because of how hateable the character was. I found myself cycling through the emotions of intense dislike, irritation, and hate. Then, rather than put the book down, I thought about all the ways she could learn her lesson by the end. When wishful thinking didn't work, I was banking on all the ways June would get her comeuppance. I wanted her to fail! And, when she finds her way out of each and every situation where she’s been caught, I kept thinking "next time… They’ll get you next time!" June’s descent into madness is telling. As she begins adopting Athena’s perceived life and identity, June starts to see Athena everywhere. In the audience of her book reading and panel, online, on the street. It's at this point that you see June and Athena switching places. I saw this less as June’s conscience catching up with her and more of a “what comes around-goes around” situation. June had been obsessing over Athena for years, and now that she essentially is Athena, she sees Athena as the person she had been: the person in the audience, the person on the computer, the person always hanging around on the fringes of Athena’s life. In the end, June becomes everything that she think Athena-- she has everything... and, as a consequence to the first, she has no friends. While June never learns a single lesson from her whole ordeal, there is much for us to learn from her.... especially in the "what not to do" area. She struggles so much with her own versions of success and fails in all the ways, but from her continuous failures and victim-mentality rose these three lessons that I've learned: 1. (As authors) We must find our voices.What makes Stephen King Stephen King? What makes Beverly Jenkins recognizable from other Harlequin Historical Romance authors (besides her subject matter)? Its like movies; I love Wes Anderson’s movies and if you are a fan— you just know his style. From the cinematography, way the characters are written, dialog, music, you know its a Wes Anderson movie. It doesn't matter if its animated (The Fantastic Mr. Fox and Isle of Dogs) or various genres of live-action (Darjeeling Limited, Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Asteroid City etc.). He has a distinct style; A "voice" that sets him apart. June lacked voice in three important ways: the stories she told, the voice she uses when telling those stories, and self advocacy (this last point is different from her lashing out at netizens). Early on, June describes Athena's voice as a writer: “Her voice has matured and sharpened. Every description, every turn of phrase— its all sings” (p. 14). The only completely original thing June has written and published, fails, and she describes it as the novel that she'd written "in a fit of inspiration during a year bored out of my skull working for Teach for America" (p. 3). June, then, goes in to compare it to Athena's debut novel which had been praised for Athena's ability to seamlessly straddle multiple genres in one piece. (Tldr: June= one note singing in a bathroom; Athena= Polyphonic singing on stage). "She's published two more books since, and the critical consensus is that she's only gotten better and better" (p. 5) "It's a little different from your range," June's agent, Brett, says after reading the stolen manuscript she presents to him. This was the first indication of a difference between June's style and Athena's style. We continue to see that June cannot write her own material— she always needs help. She needs a story, a voice— something to emulate whether its Athena’s unpublished works, or the stories of the restaurant employees in Chinatown. The only self-reflection we get about June’s voice as a writer is when Brett proposes she take up IP work. June scoffs, “IP— intellectual property— work is for mediocre writers… it’s cheap, work-for-hire labor for people who couldn't manage to sell their own original projects.” (234). June, as we’ve seen, can't sell her own words and work, either. Finding your voice doesn't just extend to your craft. It also extends to your agent and publisher. You must advocate for your work. Now, I’m not the best self-advocate, but I try to be. I’m learning to be. A friend and fellow writer who published his debut novel two years ago, told me a bit of his experiences. He had to turn down a publisher when the editor made so many changes that essentially compromised the story he wanted to tell and his own voice as an LGBTQ+ person and writer. June didn't stand up to Daniella, her editor. She let her whole team at Eden Press take over. She reconstructed June’s image, she change characters and historic events in June/Athena’s book to “soften” the image of white people. Yes, June may have stolen the manuscript, but she continued the research to keep the story as true to Athena’s vision. Yet she caved to her editor’s changes. (The only time we see June take a stand is during the hiring of a "sensitivity reader," but she only does so out of fear of getting caught.) 2. Take Criticism— especially when writing about a community and culture that's not yours. June sees herself as an expert on the Chinese experience because she’s done her research. She even has her Chinese sensitivity reader fired. June wants absolutely zero criticism or input— especially from Asian Americans. My personal opinion is that, you can be the most well read person on a topic, but until you’ve lived it, you never truly know it. For the record, I am not claiming that White authors cannot write characters of other races, or for POC not to write outside of their races. I'm not saying "write what you know." There is a difference between writing characters of different races, and claiming to be an expert on their experiences. Accept feedback and criticism on topics outside of your identities (this doesn't mean you have to implement changes, but accept that you do not know everything). June’s experience going to Athena’s funeral and going to the Chinese Community Center was deplorable and extremely racist. There was her blatant stereotyping, disgust of their food and traditions, and over all ignorance. But it did affect her, especially when she spoke with a man who lived the story she’d “written” about. In front of her was a man with real experiences, and it made June uncomfortable. Rather than listen to him, she left. On Criticism, Ta-Nahisi Coates writes:
While there is a lot that I agree with, the idea of “I said what I said” can be harmful. I feel as though, in June’s case, she doubled down hard on this idea-- everyone else didn't know what they were talking about or couldn't possibly understand what its like in this industry. She could have learned from the criticism and feedback. She could have used that to do better in her next book— not repeat old mistakes. Growth comes from criticism. 3. Be confidentIn many ways, it was June’s own insecurities that lead to her fear driven actions. She lacked confidence in her own abilities hands down. In an interview between authors Leslye Penelope and Beverly Jenkins, the latter responds to the question about Imposter Syndrome and the feeling of not being worthy of your successes: “Writers have big egos in order to think people will buy their books. How can you have the ego and not think you are worthy of this gift— because writing is a gift.” She goes on to say of success that it looks very different to different people. “The only thing you can control, is what you write.” June's debut novel was not "successful." She was aiming for the (in her mind) instantaneous success of Athena. She doubted her own skills and sacrificed her growth as a writer by attempting to fast-track her way to the top. To me, June's debut novel was a success. Success— to me— is finally finishing my WIP. It's hooking an agent with my work. It's holding the printed copy of my labors in my hand. It's seeing just 1 person enjoy it. Its seeing it on a bookshelf. Is that my ego talking? You can't control what successes come your way, but you also can't lose your confidence what it doesn't happen the way you want it to happen. You can't quit after a few bad sales or after the first 50 rejections. (This is what I tell myself… but I’m much better at giving myself advice than taking it!) Honorable mentions that go without saying:
If you’ve skipped all the spoilers — or have read them! — I strongly recommend reading Yellowface.
If you’ve read it, please leave a comment below! I’d love to know your thoughts.
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![]() I participated in a thread recently that questioned whether or not characters should have names (and if they did have names, should they have last names, too). If you recognize the man in the picture, chances are, you've already recited his name along with the rest of his declaration. One cannot think of his name without thinking about his entire purpose. His character is tied to his name. His name is memorable because of his character. This was essentially the argument given in the thread. Another was which types of works can you get away with not giving a character names-- short stories. Ok, I can agree with this because, in my short story Pigeons, my POV character and her grandmother do not have names. Similarly, my POV character for another story (soon to be published) started off without a name... but the longer the story became, the more I realized that someone would have to say her name sooner or later. My thoughts shifted once again when I finished reading Wild Spaces, a novella by S.L. Coney. When is it acceptable to give a character a name? What are the prose and cons? Like a lot of things I daydream about, I fell down the rabbit hole of research. Names of characters in stories are like the names of acquaintances in real life – the better we get to know them, the more important it is we know their names. -- Michael Haughe Every detail is important, says TV Tropes. Even names. Like Inigo Montoya, names stick with you far longer than plots (I watched The Princess Bride in elementary school and remember next to nothing about it except for Inigo). Another would be Bartleby the Scrivener, the subject of Herman Melville's short story of the same name. When you think of his name, you automatically think of what he says: "I'd rather not..." (ironically, though Bartleby is the subject of the story, the POV character who takes issue with him is unnamed). Michael Haughe, an author, lecturer, writing and consultant, likens characters to acquaintances. If we want to get to know a person, we ask for their names. If we want a connection to someone, a name is a good way to start. In concurrence, "only people that are relevant to the plot or a sidequest will be blessed with names," (Nominal Importance, TV Tropes). Yet, there are a few acceptations.... Leaving a character unnamed is also a way to show that he or she is experiencing a personal crisis of identity. Instead of the person’s name, we focus on how he or she is affected by a drastically different world, a different culture, a new job or new relationship. -- Writers Relief
Spoilers Ahead! ![]() Wild Spaces is about a boy ("the boy") and his dog Teach (the only active character with a name). His parents are simply known as "his mother" and "his father." The story begins after the boy's grandfather (known as just that) arrives and begins living with them. Though the boy, Teach, and the boy's grandfather are very important characters to the plot, they are (with the exception of Teach) nameless. In fact, when the boy's father tries to call the grandfather by his surname, the grandfather vehemently rebels against the name ("That's not my name!"). This leads into the theme of control. The mother leaves the grandfather because she didn't want to be controlled by him. The grandfather rejects his human name because he doesn't want to be controlled by it. The boy fears losing control of himself and letting the nameless thing inside him take over. It's my assumption that this is why they don't have name. Teach, the dog, knows who and what he is. In fact, Teach is very special and knows a lot more than the boy what kind of monsters are out there. The novella is 120 pages long and a 2 hour listen on your audio apps. ![]() Similar to Wild Spaces is The Bear by Andrew Krivak. I listened to this audiobook during the height of COVID while required to work from home. It was very beautiful and deeply emotional (a book that had me calling my father and sobbing about how much I missed him). In it, none of the characters have names. It is simply "the girl" and "her father." Even the setting is nameless and the events prior leave nothing telling of the setting. The story follows the girl as she learns from her father about how to survive in the wild. The two share a cabin and only have each other. When the girl suddenly finds herself without her father, she uses everything he's taught her to live her life all alone. The animals know her; though her father taught her how to hunt, he also taught her how to respect nature and in turn, nature will respect her. The animals watch over her and she begins to think of them as her father watching over her. When she dies, the animals welcomes her back into nature. It didn't occur to me during the book that they had no names, but now, I wonder why that is. I wonder if the emotional journey would have been compromises had names been given to everything. Would the allegory have less of an impact if it was all spelled out for the reader? The Bear is also a short listen at 4 hours. Do you always name your characters? Have you read the stories mentioned above?
![]() Question #45676 of questions that never fail to stump me: What's your favorite genre? (its right up there with "what music do you listen to?") I use to say something like, "Everything" or "I don't have one," but then I realized how short and conversation-ending it was, so here is my answer: My favorite genre is whatever genre I am reading at the moment. I like to call myself a "Mood Reader," for lack of a better term. Not the kind of person that can see auras or a mood ring-esque reader, but someone who lets their mood carry their interests. This has led me down some pretty interesting paths. A couple of years ago, I did a library series of programs on Death: I hosted Death Cafes, featured an art historian to talk about Death in art, Dia De Los Muertos and other death celebrations. My reading habits followed. I read all of Caitlin Doughty's books and binged her Youtube videos (most may know her my her channel, "Ask A Mortician"). I delved into her group, The Order of the Good Death and read books by her fellows, such as Dark Archives and Rest in Pieces. During my Epic Fantasy Mood, I binge read the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and David Eddings' Belgariad books. ![]() Weird Science Mood: I was obsessed with Pandora's Lab: Seven Instances of Science Gone Wrong, Gory Details, and The Icepick Surgeon (I had to wait for this one to come out after I finished the other two!). Beneath the Tamarind Tree set me on my path to seeking books relating to Islam and the Middle East (The Underground Girls of Kabul, The Bookseller of Kabul and A Woman Is No Man). This was never the case when I was younger. I stuck pretty much to Science Fiction and Fantasy (SFF) and Horror for much of my my life with a bit of coming-of-age titles thrown in (I think every young girl has read at least one Sarah Dessen book). It wasn't until I started working at a public library and took on the duties of a Readers Advisory and Collection Development librarian that I started to explore other genres-- Amish/Inspirational, Erotica, Mysteries, Romance, International, etc. With that being said, the next question that always seems to follow around writers is: Do you write what you read/read what you write? For some writers, yes. I can't tell you exactly how many, because I don't know. But for me personally, my reason for writing is much the same as my reason for reading. Through books, I can escape to places I've never been. I am different people experiencing different things. I am learning. Don't get me wrong, some genres are more fun to write in than others (like SF/F, for example). Some genres allow me to explore emotions and feelings I don't typically explore (literary and romance as other examples). In the end, though my reasons for writing and reading overlap across all genres, what I write is quite different (see my earlier blog post on Core Stories). Current Mood (if you haven't guessed from last week): |
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