Reading the first few pages ofYellowface, thelatest transfixing novel by R.F.
Yet, Kuang doesnt relate to Athena at all.
Junes voice came too easily, Kuang says.
All those horrible feelings of worthlessness and depression and jealousy that June feels, Ive felt them all.
InYellowface, Athena quickly realizes how #OwnVoices is a trap as Kuang knows all too well.
No, you dont deserve this.
Deep anxieties that, for the moment, Kuang has managed to quell withYellowface.
While June does some truly despicable things, I found it upsettingly impossible not to empathize with her.
When you were writing, did you have an idea of who was a good or bad character?
How do you personally feel about Junie?
I feel really bad for June.
Thats what I want to do with every character I write.
I want to make them compelling even if theyre making horrible decisions.
At the heart of this novel is a complex female friendship, much like FerrantesNeapolitan Novels.
We all have an Athena a friend whos perfect in our eyes.
What are your personal experiences with jealousy?
And it really bothered and frightened me.
I had bought into this thing called the Highlander Syndrome.
Its this constructed scarcity mindset thats really brought about by all kinds of exclusionary biases.
I dont think that fear is ungrounded either.
Whether June faces Twitterati cancelation or industry exaltation, shes left feeling helpless.
There were a few golden years where Twitter was a really interesting democratizing force in publishing.
You could use it to find community, to enter pitch contests that were specifically for diverse authors.
It was a place where you could have interesting conversations about writing and identity and literature.
Publishers are always like, be active on social media.
I dont recall Sally Rooney having an Instagram account.
Were at this weird space where the distance has shrunk between authors and readers.
Im not sure this is a good thing for literature.
I havent been on Goodreads in a long time because I find all of that noise terribly distracting.
You skewer the publishing industry withYellowface, and I loved seeing your support andinvolvement in the HarperCollins strike.
The strike didnt affect what was in the novel but my relationship with the people who were striking did.
Were there any other endings you considered?
Are there possible reparations for June or for the publishing companies that are complicit?
Publishing absorbs criticism of itself and turns it into another story it can capitalize on.Yellowfaceparticipates in this cycle.
What am I supposed to do?
Should I not write the novel?
I would always prefer a world in which I can get the story out there.
Its just going to be one of those scandal novels thats really good for the bottom line.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
