Imposter Syndrome is an interesting look at the question- Is Russia interfering with American life? It's a very big worry, one we see a lot in conspiracy circles, and the way that Imposter Syndrome presents this is in a more mundane way than I was expecting- almost to it's credit.
I think that the choice to present Russian spies in a Silicon Valley drama was a good one. I'd love to watch the plot of this as a tv show.
My central issue, I think, was that I would have liked this to delve more into the characterizations of Alice and Julia. We get POV chapters from Leo and from other individuals in the book, but I feel that Alice and Julia are all I really care about. Despite being, arguably, a character driven novel, the characters never really seem to be anything other than 2D figures, caricatures of themselves. Alice and Julia have many moments where they feel very human, but then it slips back into the shallow view. Their interactions really don't kick in until halfway through the book, and their power struggles and overall dynamic was one of the most interesting part of this.
Overall, it's a good book, and for a lot of people, I think it's going to hit the spot. For me. this fell flat of my expectations- likely more my own issue than the author's.

Silicon Valley meets a spy novel. This novel documents mega-successful tech executive Julia Lerner and her double life as a Russian spy. The book is less thriller and more of a character driven novel. A quick read - but I found myself without a protagonist to root for and not any of the characters particularly likeable. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I disliked Kathy Wangs previous novel, Family Trust, but decided to give this one a try when I saw that the book of the month club selected it. Unfortunately a little slow and corporate for me.

I loved this book! The spy world is so intriguing and I thought Wang’s take on this line of work is so interesting. She took the characters and gave us their back story, as well as an endearing present that left me rooting for each and every one of them to get what they most wanted out of life. The multiple POV gave a really nice mix to the story, I really loved it!!

Whattttttt the heck! This book took me by surprise in the best way. I have a weird love for anything spy=ish so as soon as I realized that's what this book is about I was hooked. This book is satirical=ish and takes a look at the racism and sexism in corporate America as well as the downfalls and dangers of technology. It was fun and witty. All of the main characters were morally gray in a way that I loved - you don't really know who to root for, so you kind of root for all of them? I honestly feel like this book was nothing short of brilliant and I highly recommend it for fans of Black Buck,

4 stars

I really enjoyed this book- I'm a sucker for a Russian spy novel. And that is exactly what this started out as but soon metamorphized into more of a character study of the main characters Julia, Alice, and Leo. I work in big tech and so I really enjoyed seeing bits of her life as a COO. I appreciated the alternating chapters and voices and there was never any confusion. But I think what I liked the most about this book are the strong female characters and the underlying message. This book showed us insight into privilege and gave us a glimpse into two foreign characters and their motivation to succeed. I'm looking forward to Kathy Wang's next novel.

Thank you to #harpercollins for the complimentary copy for an honest review.

I received an eArc of this book for review provided by NetGalley.

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.

Going into this, I thought it would be more of a thriller; with mention of Russian espionage. While that spy aspect is there, this is a story about the corporate culture of Silicon Valley; specifically women finding their place and making their way in a male dominated industry. Which I actually loved. I do enjoy a good book about a woman in power.

Told from multiple POV of Julia our MC, Leo; Julia’s “handler” and Alice who I like to think of as the wildcard. You get to see how each persons personal experiences along with their interactions weave together in this face pace story.

I also enjoyed reading the way Wang incorporated how “seamlessly” Russian intelligence was able to weave its presence in America.

Overall I was engaged the entire time and really enjoyed this book. I can’t wait to read Wang’s other novel Family Trust as I am a fan of her writing style after reading this.

BOOK REVIEW: Imposter Syndrome by Kathy Wang

SUMMARY: Julia Lerner is a Russian spy. She’s also the Chief Operating Officer at Tangerine, the world’s leading social networking company. But, after years spent building this life for herself, she may no longer be willing to jeopardize it for a distant superpower.

Despite its summary, this is not a book about spies. And despite its categorization, it’s not a mystery. It is a literary reflection on human nature and how—even when we get what we want—it doesn’t always satisfy us the way we thought it would.

Not a lot happens plot-wise, but I did find it interesting and worth reading. It made me think (albeit cynically) about gender, privilege, corporate politics, relationships… There were so many kernels of truth throughout; if I were annotating, I would have highlighted numerous passages and written exclamation points in the margins. It’s one of those books that will probably stick with me forever and would make for a very interesting book club discussion.

I neither liked it nor disliked it, but I do want to talk about it. If you’ve read it, let’s discuss!

Thank you to Kathy Wang, William Morrow and NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review! This book was a May pick for Book of the Month and will be available everywhere 5/25.

RECOMMEND!

This book is a mixture of so many things! It's fast-paced and driven by a compelling espionage plot (i.e. - imagine one of the top corporate execs at a company like Facebook or Google was a Russian plant...), but at the same time, it offered an insightful-albeit-cynical portrait of women in the workplace in the high-powered Silicon Valley techie co world, as well as a (also sometimes cynical) glimpse of Asian-Americans in the California workplace. 

There were times this book reminded me of: - THE CIRCLE by Dave Eggers - the hit TV show, KILLING EVE - the award-winning film, THE SOCIAL NETWORK - and, during those scenes between Alice and her cousin Cheri, little hints of CRAZY RICH ASIANS

If that sounds like the cocktail for you (and why wouldn't you be a fan of those things, amiright?) then grab this book on Tuesday when it hits bookstore shelves!

I am of two minds about this book, and indeed at first I expected to give only 3 Stars. Honestly, I would prefer the novel started when Alice Lu is introduced (Chapter 3); up to that point, I was disinterested and only hoping the pace would pick up and the story would provide a hook to entice me.

Fortunately, Alice's life and misadventures hooked me right in: a true Feckless Hero of the female variety, Alice Lu is a Chinese-American Californian, daughter of middle class entrepreneurs. Her life and character are brilliantly delineated; I found much empathy for her, and I believe her author did also. Alice is the character who makes the novel for me; I couldn't dredge up sympathy for Julia, who is the eponymous Main Character, but not an appealing one.
You go, Alice, and please return for an encore novel: I have much faith in you.

Imposter Syndrome by Kathy Wang
Publisher: William Morrow and Custom House
Genre: General Fiction (Adult), Literary Fiction, Mystery & Thrillers
Publication Date: May 25, 2021

Imposter Syndrome by Kathy Wang is a standalone novel, part women’s fiction, part spy adventure!

This book was so fast paced I couldn’t put it down! Imposter Syndrome has so much depth revealing so many layers. The 2 lead characters are Julia Lerner, a Russian orphan turned COO of a big tech company in Silicon Valley, and Alice Lu, who is a first generation Chinese American trying to make her way in the tech world. They both work for Tangerine, a tech giant, and when their paths cross both their lives are forever changed.

I really enjoyed this book. I binge-read it over 2 days, not wanting to sleep or do anything until I reached the end! I really enjoyed all the twists and turns the book took. It was filled with a lot of moving parts that kept it very interesting!

I loved the characters. I thought they were really well developed. I could really relate to both of the leads in different ways!

I really hope there will be future books related to this book! The author created such an interesting setting that I didn’t want to leave!

I highly recommend this book! I think it would be a fun read for a book club or for anyone that enjoys books on tech, espionage, and women’s fiction.

I’m so grateful to Kathy Wang, William Morris & Custom House, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

2.5
this book was fine, i suppose.
i literally don’t have any feelings about it, and at times was slightly bored. I didn’t actually end up finishing it, just because I was in a massive reading slump. And I can’t keep putting off reading it, because then I wouldn’t have ever gotten to it.

This is a really interesting read, a mix of a thriller, an examination of the role of tech companies, and an exploration of the pressures faced by female executives in today's society. The book focuses on Julia, a foreign intelligence asset who is sent to Silicon Valley to burrow into an American tech company. Just a little over ten years later, she is the number two at one of the world's top technology firms, Tangerine, running the company and feeding key intelligence back to her home country. When her work is inadvertently uncovered by Alice, a low level Tangerine staffer, it triggers a series of events that threatens to upend not just Julia and Alice's lives, but bring down one of the world's most powerful technology companies and upend relationships between several world powers.

This book is a great read. All of its elements -- the thriller, the character studies, and exploration of some of the most pressing social issues today -- work well individually and come together to form a timely and highly engaging story. This ambitious work is sure to be one of the top books of 2021.

Strongly recommended!

Decent read. I can see this getting a lot of press pitched as this summer’s beach read: “What if Sheryl Sandberg was a Russian spy?” The best parts were the satire of Silicon Valley, the satire was much better at making the points the book made a bit more heavyhanded in serious scenes - mostly profound points about the misogyny and racism endemic to the Bay Area, and the burdens of being ambitious and a mother. I thought it was weaker as a true spy or crime novel - the stakes just didn’t seem high enough. It was also confusing as the writer seems have had two protagonists in mind - Alice the meek Asian tech worker and Julia the Sheryl Sandberg (who is the real star and scene stealer in the book, and is such a fun character). But neither protagonist had a worthy antagonist, which took away from enjoying this book. Still, overall, the book is a flawed but decent read.

This book was a fast and fun read! Julia is a Russian woman who was recruited as a "spy" when she was a child. She is sent to Silicon Valley and slowly moves her way up the ladder at a google-like company until she is second in command and she starts questioning her assignments as they threaten her lifestyle. Meanwhile, a low-level tech worker, Alice, discovers Julia's questionable activity and tries to figure out what to do. I enjoyed the book - I found it more about women in the workplace than a heart racing spy thriller.

Meh...This was not my cup of tea. I think mostly because I thought it was going to be totally different than it actually was. The other reason is that although it was a tale of espionage, I didn't find it very exciting. Imposter Syndrome implies a psychological disorder where you are never good enough despite your success. I guess I could see that here, but it didn't follow through to the connection for me. I think I finished it because Netgalley gave me an ARC and Libro.fm gave me an ALC, so of course, I had to. I thought the characters needed more depth. I hate to rant on and on, but I think I just don't like this author's writing style. I wasn't a huge fan of The Family Trust either. The writing is not riveting, so I don't understand how it's described as a thriller. None of it had me on edge. That said the premise is interesting. A young Russian spy named Julia in transplanted into American Technology startup. You see many power struggles along the way. Then you have Alice Lu, the Chinese American girl who as she gets closer to Julia, gets closer to finding her true colors, especially since Russian continuously asks more and more of Julia.

Thank you so much to #netgalley #harperandmorrow #librofm #kathywang for this advanced readers/listening copy for an honest review.

This book was a great social commentary with a fun cat and mouse drama! Would recommend to anyone who wants a fast paced and socially aware read!

This was an interesting book. I started it thinking it was going to be a thriller (that's how it's labeled), but was disappointed when I finally came to the end and didn't feel like I got any of that "thriller action" I was looking for. The story moved along at a good pace, switching narration to a few characters, so that kept things interesting, but overall I did not think it very "thrilling". I would recommend the book to anyone who enjoys intrigue, however.

Thank you to William Morrow, Custom House and Netgalley for letting me read this book early. Imposter Syndrome hits shelves May 25.

In this story you will find Russian spies, minority perspectives, social constructs and Silicon Valley tech all mixed up into a spy story. This one is completely character driven, so much so that I began to hate all of the characters. This was presented as a thriller but I have to say it is not. It was creepy because this story did feel incredibly real and maybe that also turned me off. This one is great but it just wasn’t for me.

This book features mostly Julia, Alice and Leo’s stories all told in swapped chapters as they navigate this cat and mouse game of who can outsmart who and I think I would have enjoyed it more if it was told from one perspective for an easier flow. Everyone’s story is unique and kind of astonishing, Wang’s prose is great and her humor was my favorite part. If you’re into well developed characters and eerie stories that cut you to your core, this is your book!

Was my book missing pages?

This is a book that I have no clue how to review.


Is it a thriller? Is it a mystery? Is it satire? Is it another #metoo book?

I'm not even sure of the ending. Did Julia actually commit treason against America? If she switched sides-how is she and her family still alive. Did I miss a whole plotline--chapter---what did I miss?

I guess I'm going to have to re-read this before I give a 'real' review. *sigh*

It kept me reading, but only because I wanted to see the consequences...apparently there are none. *shrug*