CULTURE CLUB
CAMBRIDGE EDITION Book Club Take your pick from these brilliant new titles to read by the pool this summer, from gripping thrillers to dramatic tales of family and friendship
WORDS BY CHARLOTTE GRIFFITHS
Yellowface BY REBECCA F KUANG Last summer, R F Kuang’s fifth novel, Babel , took readers by both lapels and shook them hard. A gripping alternate history thriller set in a magical, dystopian version of 1830s England, it challenged perceptions around language and colonialism, and it was impossible to enter a bookshop without encountering its stark monochromatic cover. This year will undoubtedly see the citrus- bright cover of Yellowface , the newest book from this star author, deservedly stacked high across the same shelves. Yellowface takes a turn into yet another subject for the writer, but it’s not surprising that someone with first-hand experience of the maelstrom often accompanying publishing success would turn their attention to the world of books, authors and creativity itself. The story follows June Hayward, a struggling writer and friend of Athena Liu – the current literary it girl – three novels into a multi-book deal (which she signed straight out of college), who has secured a Netflix contract and 70,000 Instagram followers, but has very few acquaintances in the real world. June and Athena met at Yale, and though June’s career has stalled – a reduced print run on her debut novel, a vastly diminished book tour and an editor who’s forgotten she exists – Athena’s has sky-rocketed to stardom, making their complicated relationship a heady mix of envy and admiration. One night, during drinks at Athena’s apartment, she asks June to read the solitary hard copy of the first draft of her new novel (it’s brilliant, of course), just before a late- night, drunken pancake-making session results in Athena’s tragic accidental death. In the frenzy of paramedics, the manuscript – the one which no- one else knows exists – ends up in June’s bag. After wrestling with her very real grief, and the flattering-yet-hollow attention of the media when
it was revealed she was with Athena at her death, she starts to work on her friend’s novel. One thing leads to another: the edited manuscript secures June a huge publishing deal under a new pen name – Juniper Song – and the stardom she’s always craved is finally hers. But is it – really? This is a fantastic book; a captivating look at the process of writing, editing and publishing and a challenging, wryly satirical take on creativity, ownership and justifying actions to ourselves. TOP WORDSMITH R F Kuang is the New York Times bestselling author of the Poppy War trilogy and Babel: An Arcane History
One thing leads to another: the edited manuscript secures June a huge publishing deal
24 JUNE 2023 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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