I saw R. F. Kuang quoted she wanted Yellowface to feel like an anxiety attack, and I can't think of a book better accomplishing its author's goals than this one, in that case. From the very beginning of the novel, you're cringing your way through it, and the quick pace of it only ratchets up the anxiety throughout. It brings to mind a lot of really interesting questions to think about when it comes to authorship and who is allowed to tell what stories, and, for me, was one of the more scathing satires on the publishing industry I've read. It really brings a sense of doom to the concept of being a public figure in any realm, but the publishing-specific stuff is particularly nightmarish.

Reviewed on Monday, January 15th, 2024, 8:29am.

Nathan Hill writes about love and parenthood, and more importantly trying to navigate those topics in awful modernity, with so much compassion and humor. As a father of a boy about to be two years old, the sequence in which Elizabeth is struggling to get her two year old son to eat, following her to the grocery store for her "unraveling," evoked an internal horror the likes at which Stephen King would blush. The nonlinear approach pays off very well by the end, as well, giving you glimpses into Jack and Elizabeth's lives at different points and from different perspectives makes the conclusion satisfying and meaningful.

Reviewed on Monday, January 15th, 2024, 8:29am.