Nicholas McCane
R.F. Kuang surprised me with this one. It read nothing like her other books. It was fast-paced and kept me interested. I’m glad to share my opinion since there’s been a lot of discussion about this book on social media.
This book is about an unsuccessful author named Juniper Hayward (June) and her associate, Athena Liu (another author). June despises Athena because Athena is successful and she isn’t.
Athena dies from an accident, and June steals one of her unpublished manuscripts. June is Caucasion, Athena is Asian American. Since Athena’s book was about Chinese history, June changed her name to Juniper Song to appear Asian, then published it. Juniper ended up becoming very successful, but it did not come without drama.
The story is told from June’s perspective (first person), and it’s like watching a slow-motion train wreck. Juniper is an extremely unlikable character, and I couldn’t stop reading it. I rooted against her for the entire book.
R.F. Kuang holds up a mirror to the publishing industry. This book is about race, literary theft, and being an author in today’s climate.
According to reviews, people have found this book funny. I was so upset with the main character that I couldn’t laugh. Probably because I can see this actually happening in America. Overall, I enjoyed it!
I think it would have been a better story if a poor, talented Asian American woman had made it big. Then after dying, had her work stolen by this privileged white lady. I say this because Athena was also privileged, and seemed unlikable to me.
I am now caught up with this author’s catalog. Bring on Katabasis!
R.F. Kuang surprised me with this one. It read nothing like her other books. It was fast-paced and kept me interested. I’m glad to share my opinion since there’s been a lot of discussion about this book on social media.
This book is about an unsuccessful author named Juniper Hayward (June) and her associate, Athena Liu (another author). June despises Athena because Athena is successful and she isn’t.
Athena dies from an accident, and June steals one of her unpublished manuscripts. June is Caucasion, Athena is Asian American. Since Athena’s book was about Chinese history, June changed her name to Juniper Song to appear Asian, then published it. Juniper ended up becoming very successful, but it did not come without drama.
The story is told from June’s perspective (first person), and it’s like watching a slow-motion train wreck. Juniper is an extremely unlikable character, and I couldn’t stop reading it. I rooted against her for the entire book.
R.F. Kuang holds up a mirror to the publishing industry. This book is about race, literary theft, and being an author in today’s climate.
According to reviews, people have found this book funny. I was so upset with the main character that I couldn’t laugh. Probably because I can see this actually happening in America. Overall, I enjoyed it!
I think it would have been a better story if a poor, talented Asian American woman had made it big. Then after dying, had her work stolen by this privileged white lady. I say this because Athena was also privileged, and seemed unlikable to me.
I am now caught up with this author’s catalog. Bring on Katabasis!