Reviews
what an interesting read! kuang’s writing made me feel rage often throughout this book, and that’s how i know it’s been well written. she took the perspective of someone’s envy and loneliness and how that envy cut SO deep for juniper.
we want to root for june at the beginning with her narratives, but by the end, i was just shocked at how willing she was to keep doubling down on her actions, decisions, and behavior. her envy tied with her racism was deeply rooted in her. she genuinely did not understand how her white privilege made her successful after stealing an asian author’s work. it was baffling.
i was hooked and this book made me feel things. and even by the end, june still couldn’t recognize her wrongdoings. it was like her guilt ate her alive yet she was still trying to justify her actions.
Enjoyed sinking my teeth into this one, with an interesting protagonist and storyline. Predictable ending but a fun and thought provoking story nonetheless!
I honestly don't like all the characters, but the plot is interesting. Idk how to say it, but this book is too much for me(?) I expected more from this book. I mean.. I guess it's not my cup of tea lol. However, I gotta admit that it's such a page-turner and I lowkey enjoying it.
I've never wanted out of someone's head so badly but I couldn't put it down
I loved the way the book was executed! it kept me so invested in the story at all times, trying to understand the mind of the narrator that I really did not like but could sometimes empathize with. The people are realistic and not idealized versions of what they should be, adding a level of realism.
4 estrellas por que solo lo tradujeron a español España.
I love a fucked up protagonist.
Also, I feel like the actual plot for this book isn’t that interesting, the book has no business holding attention as well as it does. But Kuang gets the reader so invested in the mundane, she brings you into the character and makes you feel like you’re experiencing the issues in real time
imagine the biggest crash out over being a racist. this is that👍🏾
I will always love an RF Kuang book and this was no exception! Such a good premise and I loved the POV. June is so unlikeable a lot of the time (which I find so interesting as a main character) and yet you do find yourself rooting for her occasionally. This book really does promt so many conversations around these topics and makes you reconsider stances on plagiarism and the writing industry. Would definitely read!
PHENOMENAL, JAW DROPPING,
Oh. My. God. That was a ride
Couldn’t put it down but will make you wince more than once!
i have no words this was like insane.
Okay so this book was great. I wasn’t a big fan of Kuangs’ Babel, but this book was a totally different genre, style and plot.
The emotions we went through in this book was so complex and layered. I had this one feeling of Disgust for our main character; like how could someone ever do something so selfish like that. But then I felt a lot of compassion and empathy for her; I understood the jealous and angry side of her, and the way the social media portrayal was drawn, tearing her apart over and over for something she arguably deserved really confused me on how to feel. I think I’m with the minority where I actually feel bad for Junie. If she had just explained before publishing this book that it was Athena’s book and she thought it would be fair to adapt it and write it in her memory, it would have gone great, I wish she did that.
But I’m glad I read this book. It was worth it, I always struggle to pick up Kuangs books because they’re so intimidating, but I’d definitely recommend you try in them.
like being a mesmerized by a train wreck. i was so curious by the hole june hayward continued to dig and dig and dig even til the end she never outright confessed. it was executed very well, i even started wondering what opinion june was spewing was right or wrong, what is being made up or exaggerated to make her more of a victim and what is the actual reality.
I love me some satire. This was extraordinarily well-written: perfectly tongue-in-cheek while retaining its depth. In the beginning, I loved to hate Juniper Song; by the end, I couldn’t help but see her in all her messy -still unlikeable- humanity. I see why this book was raved about.
Richtig gutes Buch. Sehr spannend und das Ende fand ich sehr realistisch und deswegen auch gut. Nur manchmal haben ein paar Szenen nach einem Film Set erinnert. Dennoch hat die Autorin die Figur richtig gut rausgearbeitet. Ich konnte es manchmal nicht aus der Hand nehmen.
This was an interesting read. I’m not sure I loved it, but thinking back there was a strong theme throughout. Juniper was willing to do anything for public approval, and in some ways, to feel like she meant something, including plagiarism of her deceased “friend’s” work.
Juniper as a character had no moral compass whatsoever and had no problem throwing people under the bus to benefit herself. She lied without a second thought and continued to do this regardless of the consequences.
I felt that when I read the blurb of this book I expected us to delve more into the plot of her actually publishing stolen work, how she was going to get away with it etc, however this was more character driven, and the plot progressed rather quickly other than that. I kind of felt that somehow… there was never high stakes for Juniper. I never wondered how she was going to get away with the terrible choices she was making.
One thing I did love was Kuang’s highlighting of the effect of social media on authors. I felt she showed really well how author’s can become public punching bags basically overnight, it was interesting to see Juniper going through that.
Overall, I got through this quickly, and felt the storh flowed however I never really felt for Juniper as I disagreed with her position on almost everything. Maybe if the MC has some redeeming qualities it would have allowed me to care more about the effect her actions would have on her life.
If you don’t like rf kuang‘s writing then you’re a version of June Hayward☝🏾
Clever, fun, fast paced. Could not put it down. The ending though.. Very anticlimactic, for me at least.
The start was intresting but the middle dragged on for too long in my opinion.
I feel so nauseous reading every page of yellowface. I have never despised a main character so much that my note-taking ended up full of resentment toward Juniper Song. It's best to approach the book with a peaceful mind and good mood as I can't promise you won't end up venting your frustration or cursing along the way.
She did it again! This might be my favourite book of the year.
it's punchy, it's jaw-dropping, it's excellent and satirical and i simply couldn't put it down! it was such a brilliant usage of internal monologue too. i was genuinely in awe and shock as june managed to dig herself into deeper and deeper holes. utterly amazing.
An easy read. I felt it stagnated towards the end. I predicted the ending which I rarely do.
Highlights
Keep your eyes on your own paper, they say. But that’s hard to do when everyone else’s papers are flapping constantly in your face.
What more can we want as writers than such immortality? Don't ghosts just want to be remembered?
Writing is the closest thing we have to real magic. Writing is creating something out of nothing, is opening doors to other lands. Writing gives you the power to shape your own world when the real one hurts too much. To stop writing would kill me.
Don’t ghosts just want to be remembered?
How does someone go from being a real person, someone you actually knew, to a set of marketing and publicity points, consumed and lauded by fans who think they know them, but don't really, but understand this also, and celebrate them regardless?
I want the world to wait with bated breath for what I will say next. I want my words to last forever. I want to be eternal, permanent; when I'm gone, I want to leave behind a mountain of pages that scream, Juniper Song was here, and she told us what was on her mind.
i swear im not “june” hayward, im better than her
The new version is a universally relatable story, a story that anyone can see themselves in.
💀
The living can't appear and disappear at will. The living can't haunt you at every turn. Athena's ghost has wormed its way into my every waking moment. Only the dead can be so constantly present.
Wir nicken alle und trinken einen Schluck Wein, erleichtert, dass wir nicht zur bedauernswerten Masse gehören.
My story isn't remarkable. It is, in fact, utterly mundane. Not every girl has a rape story. But almost every girl has an "I'm not sure, I didn't like it, but I can't quite call it rape" story.
One star. The Last Front has received its first one-star review, from a user named CandiceLee.
i kinda root for candice honestly… june is pissing me off soo baadd!!!
the most annoying symptom of anxiety is refusing to believe the obvious and rational explanation.
“Imagine,“ she kept murmuring. “AII those lives lost. All that suffering for a cause that they didn't even know if they believed in, just because their government was convinced domino theory was true. My God."
THE BEST WAY TO HIDE A LIE IS IN PLAIN SIGHT.
I felt, as Kanye put it, harder, better, faster, and stronger. I felt like the kind of person who now listened to Kanye.
But I can’t quit the one thing that gives meaning to my life. Writing is the closest thing we have to real magic. Writing is creating something out of nothing, is opening doors to other lands.
I audibly laughed. This is a crazy line from someone who has been so unable to “create from nothing” that she stole from her dead ‘friend’ TWICE.
I am innocent in the court of public opinion. And at least for now, Athena's ghost has been banished.
This whole section about the social media discourse… whew 😵💫
June’s inability to take any criticism or to self-reflect in any capacity…. I think R. F. Kuang has managed to write the most infuriating, yet compelling character/plot combo.
Meanwhile, in my bag, tossed at the floor of my bed, Athena's manuscript sits like a hot sack of coals.
I know it was obvious that she was going to steal the manuscript but my jaw still dropped
We owe nothing to the dead. Especially when the dead are thieves and liars too.
oh sheeeeessshhhhh girl got no remorse
It's like pressing a bleeding sore repeatedly, trying to see how far you can go with your tolerance for pain, because if you know the limits of it, you gain some sense of control over it.
They're more like a smorgasbord of creative churning, half-formed doors to other worlds, worlds in which I lingered for hours when I didn't want to be in my own.