satire

R. F. Kuang is known for her fantasy novels but steps outside of the genre in this satirical, unreliable-narrator novel. Yellowface is, if nothing else, a compulsively interesting read. Some of the Goodreads reviews are pretty divided on it, which I think is testament to the complexity of the satire that R. F. Kuang has introduced. Kuang, who is Chinese-American, writes from the perspective of a white woman whose friend is a successful Asian writer. When that friend dies in a freak accident, the narrator steals her manuscript and publishes it as her own work. What follows is a critique of

There are some downsides to HBO’s Enlightened. It is painfully sincere. It riffs on commercialized, New Age-y self-help. It satirizes corporate America in a way that makes you wonder if it is really satire after all. But I find myself recommending the show anyway.

I haven’t really seen anything like it. I cringed a lot. I felt uncomfortable. But I didn’t stop watching. There’s a tension in the show, which totters between rage and earnestness. These extremes are broadcasted on the face of the protagonist, Amy, played by Laura Dern. Everyone is a bit of a caricature, which is the show’s main

When This Is Spinal Tap was released in theaters in 1984, many audience members were convinced they were seeing a documentary of an actual British rock group, Spinal Tap, fumbling its way through one last tour across America despite the fact they hadn’t had a hit song in nearly two decades.   In reality, the film is a mockumentary directed by the great Rob Reiner, and Spinal Tap is a fake band made up of three brilliant American actors.  Christopher Guest, who went on to direct and star in other hilarious mockumentaries such as Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, and A Mighty Wind, plays lead

Goblin Quest follows Jig, a weak and cowardly goblin, through his capture by a group of roving adventurers and his development into…a slightly less weak and cowardly goblin.

This is a book for anyone who plays or has played Dungeons and Dragons, anyone who enjoys hearing the other side of the story, those who enjoy seeing conventions of storytelling turned around, and anybody who just likes a good, fun, fantasy novel.