#because they're...unable to jump over some hurdle and interrogate what the author was doing/trying to do/did

[the-everqueen]

on the other hand re: kuang the book *i* want literally couldn't have been published by a major publisher or accrued starred reviews because the nature of writing novels for a living in our current world hinges on one of five publishing houses wanting to buy your book, at least if you want to make any kind of living, and like...i DO want nonwhite writers to be making a living, i DO understand that the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house and it's unfair to place that burden on the like, handful of nonwhite writers that publishing has deigned to let join the table, instead of creating a better system together. and i know from experience (this fucking website) that when nonwhite writers make really subtle, artful, critical works, sometimes white readers just reduce that to "oh this is about being [insert identity here]" because they didn't like how the author handled one minor plot point or because the author didn't literally spell out "this action is racist" alongside certain characters.