Yellowface

I read this book around 2024, right when it was incredibly popular. I remember seeing it everywhere—it was displayed prominently on the shelves at every English-language bookstore I visited in Paris. I wonder if it’s been published in Japan by now. Set in the publishing industry, this novel offers a rather scathing portrayal of a writer’s self-consciousness, desire for validation, and obsession with success. Issues of race and identity are also woven into the story, and I found that combination particularly intriguing. I suspect the protagonist reflects quite a bit of what the author herself has experienced and observed as a writer. In any case, the competition surrounding the desire for self-validation is grotesque: characters envy others’ success, try to prove their own worth, and are constantly swayed by the evaluations they receive from social media and the publishing industry. The raw realism of it all was so intense that it actually made me feel a little queasy while reading. Still, the novel’s power to keep me turning the pages was impressive. Even though it relentlessly exposes the parts of human nature we’d rather not see, I couldn’t put it down. Although it was quite different from *Babel*, it made me want to read more of this author’s work.