The new work by one of the greatest names in fantasy literature, RF Kuang arrives in Brazil: “Impostor: Yellowface” the first book of contemporary fiction by the Chinese-American author.
The work will be published by Intrínseca in August, and took won the Goodreads Choice Awards and the British Book Awards for Book of the Year —already received previously by RF Kuang with “Babel or the need for violence”.
Kuang decided to go behind the scenes of an industry she knows well: the publishing market. The book is narrated in the first person by the unreliable protagonist June Hayward, a writer frustrated with the failure of her own career who decides to take an extreme action.
Hayward is a young Yale graduate who believed she had a brilliant future as a writer ahead of her, but her excitement turns to bitterness when she publishes her first book and ends up with copies stranded in bookstores, without the support of her publisher.
The young woman is envious of Athena Liu, her college friend who achieved commercial success as an author. For Hayward, Liu is a favorite among literary critics and, because of her Chinese ancestry, a more attractive name for publishers.
After witnessing an accident that leads to the death of Athena Liu, she decides to steal her colleague’s manuscript and publish it under the pseudonym Juniper Song, a racially ambiguous name.
Hayward receives everything she ever dreamed of: success, money and recognition. But soon rumors of plagiarism and accusations of having falsified her racial identity begin to circulate, while the ghost of Athena Liu continues to hover over her.
Who is the author RF Kuang?
RF Kuang drew inspiration from her own experience as a writer of Chinese descent to create the story of “Impostor: Yellowface.”
Winner of the Nebula and Locus awards for “Babel, or the Necessity of Violence,” Kuang is also the author of the bestselling trilogy “The Poppy War” — which was nominated for several awards, including the Hugo — and has won the British Book Awards for two consecutive years, for “Babel” and “Impostor: Yellowface.”
In her new book, she reflects on the prejudice that does not always appear explicitly in the publishing market, cultural appropriation, the influence of social media on the existence of a cancel culture, the importance of diversity in art and the existence of false allies.
- Title: “Impostor: Yellowface”
- Author: RF Kuang
- Translation: Yonghui Qio
- Pages: 352
- Publisher: Intrinseca
- Price: R$ 59.90 (printed) | R$ 39.90 (e-book)
- Release in Brazil: 2024
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m Robert Neff, a professional writer and editor. I specialize in the entertainment section, providing up-to-date coverage on the latest developments in film, television and music. My work has been featured on World Stock Market and other prominent publications.
