Summer is a time when the SAS librarians are able to spend some time enjoying one of their favorite things - reading books. After months of curating lists, assisting students with research, organizing resources, cataloging books, engaging in professional development courses, the librarians take a short break to engage in some pleasure reading over the summer. When recommending books to patrons of the library, a role they take very seriously, they like to be able to say, they've read the book, read a recent review, or know the author's work.
Over the next month or two, in this same location, you can read brief reviews by the SAS librarians. Below is a review by library assistant, Jenn Wilson '03, who describes R.F. Kuang's latest novel, Yellowface.
"Yellowface can be an uncomfortable read, as we watch a desperate, misguided, failing writer scavenge her fallen frenemy's latest unreleased masterpiece. The delusions of June Hayward, a white author trying to pass off her Asian American colleague's work, are truly cringe-inducing. Some critiques of this book state that this story lacks subtlety, which I agree with to a degree, but it is still a wonder to watch the mental gymnastics of this character as she tries to justify her plagiarism and cultural appropriation."