Gulp Fiction, or Into The Missouri-verse: On Percival Everett’s “James”
Can one tell Twain’s story from Jim’s perspective without creating a flimsy, second-hand imitation of Jim’s voice which dooms the experiment from the start?
The Diversity Elevator: On R. F. Kuang’s “Yellowface”
The novel is a lackluster examination of plagiarism, privilege, and cultural appropriation that is too assured of its own righteousness; that fails, in its moral assertions and limp characterizations, to conclude anything besides the painstakingly obvious.