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Month: May 2023

Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

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Yellowface is quite the divergence from R. F. Kuang’s last novel, Babel. It is a contemporary satire of the publishing industry, which I am surprised even got published. It does not hold back in its criticism of the racism that permeates the industry. Like Birnam Wood, I cannot say that I liked reading Yellowface. The novel’s “protagonist” is just so awful, I was angry the entire time I read it. However, it is a very interesting behind the scenes look at the publishing industry and how successful writers are made.

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Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

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I have read Eleanor Catton’s two other novels, The Rehearsal, which I did not like, and The Luminaries, which I found interesting enough to keep in case I want to read it again. Birnam Wood, published ten years after The Luminaries, is already being named one of the best releases of this year. This was enough to pique my interest, but the plot, a psychological eco-thriller set in New Zealand involving a gardening collective and a billionaire, was what compelled me to read it in the end. I cannot say that I liked reading Birnam Wood (named after the Birnam Wood referenced in Shakespeare’s MacBeth, which I will not even try to parse because I do not enjoy reading Shakespeare), but I do find it to be a fascinating novel. When I finished reading the novel’s shocking ending, my first reaction was WTF and then my second reaction was I wish I had someone to discuss this novel with.

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How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

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How High We Go in the Dark is a novel that reads as a collection of short stories. I am not the biggest fan of the short story genre, but I loved this collection of stories. Each story is a continuation of the overarching theme of the devastating impact of climate change on humanity, and certain characters recur throughout the stories as well as easter eggs from preceding stories. I found this novel to be sad, but now that I have read it, I find myself feeling hopeful that human connections will ultimately prevail and save us.

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The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

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A few books ago I reviewed Bookworm by Robin Yeatman, a novel about a woman fantasizing about and then actively trying to kill her husband, and I did not think the novel worked because the protagonist was neither sympathetic nor entertaining. Parini Shroff’s The Bandit Queens is about more than one woman trying to kill her husband, but unlike Bookworm, it works on multiple levels. The women are sympathetic characters. The husbands they want to kill are truly despicable. The novel, if not quite laugh-out-loud funny, is humorous. But most importantly, The Bandit Queens critically examines gender roles in India and the challenges women face to subvert them.

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