Impostor Syndrome

This latest from Wang (Family Trust) takes the spy novel into Silicon Valley, with mixed results. Having been placed in an orphanage by her widowed mother, Julia Lerner is hand-picked by Leo Guskov of Russia’s State Protection Bureau for the express purpose of infiltrating an American tech giant. Leo’s plan succeeds, as Julia rises to COO of Tangerine (an all-knowing behemoth with Google-esque capabilities to addict users and track their behavior) with a hapless husband and tiring baby in tow for appearances’ sake. Julia comes to embrace her prominent role, her family, and her American-ness, frustrating Leo. Julia’s clandestine data breaches spark the interest of Alice Lu, a Tangerine worker bee who isn’t sure why the head of her company is being flagged during a routine server checkup and is less sure how hard she should try to find out. Wang’s novel is at its penetrating best during these chapters, with trenchant observations on cultural assimilation and the role of women in the tech economy. The tradecraft is less compelling, playing out in a predictable way.