There’s not much I can say about Rebecca F. Kuang’s satirical take on racism, white privilege, cultural appropriation within the cut-throat world of publishing that hasn’t already been said. 

It’s riveting and incredibly relevant (if you’ve been on social media at all this year then you’ve probably witnessed at least one book/ author related scandal ) and absolutely LOVED IT! I finished in about two days and it’s utterly addictive. 

Though I do want to say, (for anyone who’s yet to read it) not to go into this expecting a heartwarming redemption arc or a protagonist you’ll want to root for. Because you’re not gonna find either of those things and if those are necessary for your reading enjoyment, then you’re probably gonna be disappointed.

Our protagonist (June) is a petty and selfish individual, who, when we first meet her is prone to bouts casual racism and an overinflated ego that has her convinced that her lack of success is solely the fault of the “gatekeeping” publishing industry who are more concerned about profiting from diversity than publishing “good” books.  An absurd overreaction to her failed debut, but one that’s surprisingly grounded in reality given how many authors I have seen publicly complain using the very same reason as June. 

But despite June’s unlikability and ever escalating controversies (from theft and plagiarism to outright bullying) I was utterly fascinated by the train-wreck that was her life, and each ever more shocking and shameless choice she made in her pursuit of success. 

Kuang’s ability to slip into the mindset of someone as terrible as June was jaw droppingly impressive. And though I’ve only read one of her previous books so far (Babel which I really enjoyed), Kuang’s thought-provoking and well researched exploration into the flawed inner workings of the publishing industry has only further cemented her as an auto buy author for me. 

Overall, a must read literary thriller that lives up to all of its (well deserved) hype.