I know… every weekend is a long weekend for me in the summer, but this one seems to hold greater significance because it’s heralding the end of summer, so I’m particularly grateful for the amazing weather we’ve been having and will continue to have this week, and for the opportunity to plan so many fun things in the coming weeks to make the most of the rest of the summer break.
I had a book club meeting on Friday to discuss RF Kuang’s book Yellowface, which was a really great book club choice, as it generated amazing discussion. June Hayward is present when her friend, best- selling author and rising star Athena Liu, dies. Both are aspiring writers but Athena’s made it and June hasn’t yet achieved the fame which she believes she’s owed. When circumstances create an opportunity for June, she grabs it and all her dreams seemingly come true, but at what cost? This book gives a glimpse into the cut-throat world of writing and publishing, and everyone agreed that it would be a terrible business to be in. None of us liked any of the characters in the book, and felt that some of the scenes made us uncomfortable, as themes of diversity and positive discrimination, as well as racism, were explored. I found the book to be compulsively readable, and while I didn’t like June, I felt that I learned so much about the publishing industry, which I think was fairly portrayed, although I hope the reality isn’t quite as dire as Kuang suggests. One of the questions we pondered is whether you can still enjoy a book when you don’t like the characters, and we decided that the answer is “yes, sometimes, depending on the story”. The irony was not lost on this reader that in the story June, a white woman, is criticized for writing about Chinese labourers in WWI, but yet it’s ok for Kuang, an Asian American writer, to have as her protagonist a white woman. Anyway, I thought this book was great… until it wasn’t, but the part that wasn’t so great was brief, so it was a totally worthwhile read and I would highly recommend this book for anyone looking for an interesting book about the publishing industry, or for anyone who enjoyed Jean Hanff Korelitz’s book The Plot.
That’s all for today. Get outside and enjoy every moment of this lovely day, every drop of sunshine, and every ripple of every leaf on every tree!
Bye for now... Julie
