by R.F. Kuang
June Hayward, a struggling white author whose career has stalled after
the lackluster performance of her debut novel, is frenemies with Athena
Liu, a successful and photogenic Chinese American writer, whose books
hit the bestseller lists with regularity. One night, over drinks,
Hayward watches Athena die in a freak accident. Impulsively, she grabs
an unfinished manuscript she sees on the desk (with a few other items),
and decides to edit it, massage the wording, and claim it as her own.
Changing her name to the more exotic "Juniper Song" is the cherry on the
cultural appropriation cake. At first, all goes better than Hayward's
wildest dreams, as the book — a historical novel about Chinese laborers
in World War I — takes off as a critical and commercial darling. But,
of course, oh what tangled webs we weave and all that; soon June faces
an acid reception from the Asian writing community, accusations of
cultural appropriation and plagiarism, leading to intense backlash from
the literary community, social media, and — somewhat dubiously —even
Athena's apparent literal ghost, which seems to haunt her every move. As
the pressure mounts, June grapples with guilt, paranoia, and the
ethical implications of her deceit.
I was caught up in this story
very early on. It's an enthralling, sharp, and even unsettling
exploration of the ethical dilemmas surrounding cultural appropriation,
identity, and the politics of the publishing industry. Kuang deftly
tackles these complex issues with a provocative array of viewpoints and
not a little black humor. The novel is also a thrilling story, as
pulse-pounding in its way as an action thriller, as we wait to see what
will befall Hayward, who as the novel progresses seems to become more
and more defensive of her actions. I found her inner monologue honest
and nuanced, and while I don't think she can be called a sympathetic
narrator, at times I couldn't help hoping she'd land on her feet. I very
much admire Kuang's masterful description of the internal conflict,
putting on display the ambition, envy, desperation, terror, and defiance
that comes from such an ugly act of theft. As for the ending, I found
it rather unlikely, a bit cartoonish, and somewhat jarring, not matching
the realism of the rest of the novel. However, overall this is a
fantastic jeremiad of a novel, scathing and insightful, shedding light
on the biases and power dynamics that shape which voices are heard and
which are marginalized.
four stars
