In this months Travel Times Book Club we take a look at I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue and Yellowface by R.F Kuang.
I Hope This Finds You Well
Imagine being able to suddenly read every single email and instant message your colleagues were sending? This is exactly what happens in I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue, an office comedy that will tug at your heartstrings.
Jolene works in an administrative role at a corporate office and to vent her grievances against coworkers, she adds additional text to her emails, changing the font to white so it’s not visible… until she’s caught, then forced to complete mandatory training with Cliff, the new HR guy.
There is an IT mix-up in the training setup process, and Jolene now finds herself with access to all her coworkers’ emails and chats. She knows it’s wrong, but maybe this is a chance to use the information to her advantage, to save herself and her job. While doing so, Jolene contends with her overbearing family, her feelings toward Cliff, and, she begins to realise her coworkers aren’t necessarily who they seem on the surface.
Crackling with laugh-out-loud dialogue and relatable observations, I Hope This Finds You Well is a fresh and surprisingly tender comedy about loneliness and love beyond our computer screens. This sparkling debut novel will open your heart to the everyday eccentricities of work culture and the undeniable human connection that comes with it.
Yellowface by R.F Kuang
Small lies. Dark wit. Dire consequences… The best-selling phenomenon Juniper Song isn’t who she claims to be, she didn’t pen the novel she takes credit for, and she’s definitely not Asian American—in this chilling yet sharply satirical novel from R.F. Kuang, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel.
June Hayward and Athena Liu were meant to be the next big literary duo. But while Athena shines as a critical darling, June feels invisible. Who cares about stories featuring ordinary white women, June wonders.
So, when June witnesses Athena’s sudden death in an unfortunate accident, she seizes the opportunity: she takes Athena’s completed manuscript—a ground-breaking novel about the overlooked role of Chinese labourers during World War I.
What’s the harm if June tweaks Athena’s novel and submits it as her own? What if her new publisher rebrands her as Juniper Song, with a vaguely ethnic author photo? This story deserves to be told, no matter who tells it, right? That’s June’s reasoning, and the bestseller lists seem to agree.
But Athena’s legacy looms large, and mounting evidence threatens to unravel June’s (stolen) success. As June scrambles to safeguard her secret, she realises just how far she’s willing to go to keep what she believes is hers.
With a gripping first-person narrative, Yellowface delves into issues of diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation, while also exploring the unsettling alienation of social media. R.F. Kuang’s novel is timely, incisive, and utterly compelling.
