Impostor Syndrome A Novel
Impostor Syndrome by Kathy Wang is a large print novel published by HarperCollins Publishers in 2021, featuring 528 pages in English. This sharp and prescient narrative explores the complexities of women in the workplace, the influence of Big Tech, and the threats posed by foreign espionage. The story follows Julia Lerner, a recent computer science graduate recruited by a Russian intelligence agency, who rises to become COO of a prominent Silicon Valley tech company, Tangerine, while secretly funneling intelligence back to her homeland.
Readers will find a blend of suspense and humor as the plot unfolds through the eyes of Alice Lu, a first-generation Chinese American working at Tangerine. As Alice uncovers unsettling information about the company’s privacy practices, she becomes entangled in a web of suspicion surrounding Julia. The novel offers a critical examination of Silicon Valley culture, the challenges faced by women in tech, and the pursuit of the American Dream, all while maintaining a thrilling cat-and-mouse dynamic.
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A Good Morning America Buzz Pick * Named A Best Book of Summer by Entertainment Weekly, New York Post, Buzzfeed, TheSkimm, PopSugar, Bustle, HelloGiggles, Ms. Magazine, Oprah Daily, USA Today, Philadelphia Inquirer, Lit Hub * Named A Most Anticipated Book of 2021 by The Millions, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, Crimereads
A sharp and prescient novel about women in the workplace, the power of Big Tech, and the looming threat of foreign espionage from Kathy Wang, “a skilled satirist of the northern California dream” (Harper’s Bazaar)
In 2006 Julia Lerner is living in Moscow, a recent university graduate in computer science, when she’s recruited by Russia’s largest intelligence agency. By 2018 she’s in Silicon Valley as COO of Tangerine, one of America’s most famous technology companies. In between her executive management (make offers to promising startups, crush them and copy their features if they refuse); self promotion (check out her latest op-ed in the WSJ, on Work/Life Balance 2.0); and work in gender equality (transfer the most annoying females from her team), she funnels intelligence back to the motherland. But now Russia’s asking for more, and Julia’s getting nervous.
Alice Lu is a first generation Chinese American whose parents are delighted she’s working at Tangerine (such a successful company!). Too bad she’s slogging away in the lower echelons, recently dumped, and now sharing her expensive two-bedroom apartment with her cousin Cheri, a perennial “founder’s girlfriend”. One afternoon, while performing a server check, Alice discovers some unusual activity, and now she’s burdened with two powerful but distressing suspicions: Tangerine’s privacy settings aren’t as rigorous as the company claims they are, and the person abusing this loophole might be Julia Lerner herself.
The closer Alice gets to Julia, the more Julia questions her own loyalties. Russia may have placed her in the Valley, but she’s the one who built her career; isn’t she entitled to protect the lifestyle she’s earned? Part page-turning cat-and-mouse chase, part sharp and hilarious satire, Impostor Syndrome is a shrewdly-observed examination of women in tech, Silicon Valley hubris, and the rarely fulfilled but ever-attractive promise of the American Dream.
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