Russian spies and shadowy tech shine in ‘Impostor Syndrome’

‘Impostor Syndrome’ by Kathy Wang

Julia retains the 2nd most powerful situation at a massive tech business termed Tangerine. She’s lauded for getting 1 of the couple of females at the best in Silicon Valley and her community persona is all about breaking the glass ceiling and getting a wholesome do the job/everyday living equilibrium.

Julia’s reality, nevertheless, is incredibly diverse. Julia is also a spy.

Kathy Wang’s latest novel “Impostor Syndrome” tells the story of Julia’s ascent to tech royalty as a spy for a Russian business called the SPB. Soon after yrs of dwelling in Silicon Valley, Julia has become accustomed to her magnificent American life-style and is more devoted to retaining her position at Tangerine than she is to supplying the SPB with whatever details they ask for. As Julia begins to thrust back again towards the SPB and her handler Leo, a very low-degree employee named Alice begins to investigate some bizarre information numbers at the corporation…that lead again to Julia’s SPB perform.

Told largely from Julia, Leo and Alice’s perspectives, Wang weaves an intricate tale of tech drama and cat-and-mouse espionage. Julia wishes to keep in ability but her loyalties lie with her very own ambition as a substitute of Moscow’s, even though Alice’s curiosity is placing Julia’s potential at possibility.

“Impostor Syndrome” is a thrilling satire that examines the lifestyle of large tech firms as nicely as who can and just cannot accessibility the American Dream. Wang’s novel also plays up the Large Brother fears numerous individuals have about technological know-how and poses the dilemma, just how secure and non-public is your on line everyday living.

From the book jacket…

In 2006 Julia Lerner is residing in Moscow, a recent university graduate in laptop or computer science, when she’s recruited by Russia’s most significant intelligence agency. By 2018 she’s in Silicon Valley as COO of Tangerine, one of America’s most popular technological know-how companies. In among her government administration (make features to promising startups, crush them and copy their attributes if they refuse) self advertising (check out out her latest op-ed in the WSJ, on Operate/Daily life Equilibrium 2.) and get the job done in gender equality (transfer the most troublesome ladies from her team), she funnels intelligence again to the motherland. But now Russia’s inquiring for far more, and Julia’s obtaining anxious.

Alice Lu is a first generation Chinese American whose mother and father are delighted she’s functioning at Tangerine (these types of a thriving business!). Too poor she’s slogging away in the reduced echelons, recently dumped, and now sharing her expensive two-bedroom condominium with her cousin Cheri, a perennial “founder’s girlfriend”. Just one afternoon, even though doing a server examine, Alice discovers some abnormal exercise, and now she’s burdened with two powerful but distressing suspicions: Tangerine’s privateness configurations aren’t as arduous as the corporation promises they are, and the person abusing this loophole may be Julia Lerner herself.

The nearer Alice will get to Julia, the far more Julia queries her individual loyalties. Russia may possibly have put her in the Valley, but she’s the just one who crafted her vocation isn’t she entitled to protect the way of life she’s gained?

If you enjoy…

For visitors who appreciate pondering the darker side of technologies, the chilling ambition uncovered in Dave Eggers novel “The Circle” may well be specifically what you are searching for.