Reviews with content warning for Racism - Impostor Syndrome

This book started off so strong for me and then it started to drag. As someone who works in tech, I love stories that delve into and mock the culture of Silicon Valley. So I didn't mind the exposition and how Wang set up Julia and Alice's lives at Tangerine. However, it eventually became a slog to read through Julia's selfish musings on the treatment of women in the C-suite and Alice's lackluster attempts to investigate what Julia was up to.

I also didn't really understand Alice's sympathy for and defensiveness of Julia towards the end

(just because she found out Julia's husband was cheating on her, she decided Julia was a strong, noble person?)

; same for Julia's interest in Alice

(during her questioning)

. The "closeness" hinted at in the book description seemed artificial and unnecessary. Things also wrapped up very quickly at the end, which left me feeling like all that buildup was for nothing. Honestly, Leo was my favorite character, and that's saying something because I was so ready to root for these complicated women! Just another example of a thriller that probably shouldn't have been marketed as such.

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oliviaclaire's review

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tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Imposter Syndrome was an interesting read and much more character led than I had anticipated. I think I had expected a sort of cat and mouse thriller but Wang manages to balance the pace of the plot by writing characters that make interesting and occassionally surprising decisions based on their personal circumstances and ethics. This makes the story feel more fleshed out as the characters build their own interpersonal relationships and find themselves conflicted when faced with mounting difficult choices in areas like women in tech, work/life balance, loyalty vs self interest and international espionage. Even though I might not have agreed with or taken the same actions as some of our cast, I never thought any of them were acting out of character at any point which speaks to Wang's ability to build her characters well.

However, the lack of 'cat and mouse' does make for an especially slow burn and the ending isn't the crescendo you would expect from most books billed as a 'thriller'. I would suggest this is a read for someone who enjoys excellent characterisation and a nuanced view of women in tech, racism in the United States and other issues connected to the rise and rise of Silicon Valley.

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mlthomas234's review against another edition

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dark funny slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I️ enjoyed reading this book, though I don’t often enjoy books I️ would characterize as this slow-paced. Very character-driven, and focused on exploring the lives and backstories of the characters more than advancing the plot. Julia’s backstory was the only one that seemed to push the plot forward, while the other two were enjoyable to read but did not provide much depth into Leo/Alice’s actions. The characters had distinct voices. Some of Alice’s choices, as well as her overall motivation, are gray to me.

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planreadrepeat's review

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lighthearted mysterious tense

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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blakethebookeater's review

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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kelseyrae15's review

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dark informative reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Impostor Syndrome by Kathy Wang explores the world of Big Tech through the eyes of a Russian Spy, Julia Lerner, who has helped build and infiltrated one of the biggest companies in Silicon Valley, as COO. And she did it all on her own.

We also follow the life of Alice Lou, who currently works for Tangerine, Julia’s company, and see the extremely different lifestyles these two women lead. Alice, living paycheck to paycheck, working at a much lower level and having to fight to keep her job while Julia, has everything - money, family, a husband, and her career. What Alice doesn’t see is how hard Julia has to fight to keep her job as well. How cutthroat this industry is.

There were so many messages to take away from this book. I felt it was less about the Russian spy and the SPB aspect and more about the lives of women in the business field along with the power of technology. Not only just being women, but immigrants. What men get handed to them so easily, women have to fight twice as hard just to stay in the running.

Another thing I found interesting was that there’s a lot of degrading commentary about women between both the male characters and the women characters throughout the story, along with comments in reference to race. I think Kathy is trying to portray what many immigrants have gone through trying to chase that American dream and how hard it is to fit in being someone native to another country. Also I think she is trying to portray that women are just as horrible to each other as the men are to them.

Also, Impostor Syndrome made me realize just how much poster Big Tech Companies hold. With a click of a button, thanks to social sites and the internet itself, you can find out so much about a person. Personal things. It’s beyond scary. And it makes me question are these companies misusing this information, like Julia was? Where is our information actually going?

Overall, I gave this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ due to the topics discussed throughout the story. I was fascinated and a little sickened to learn about the reach of technology, how our country can be, and how little we think of women still to this day. There was a bit that I didn’t understand as I don’t work or know much about Big Tech, but looking at the big picture, it was a very interesting read and one outside my comfort zone. My thoughts are a little sporadic as I am still trying to process this one, but I hope you can take find someone take aways from review

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