RF Kuang’s 2023 satire of racial diversity, cultural appropriation and plagiarism in the publishing industry garnered some mixed reviews; the Washington Post was particularly critical of the main character (lacked depth) and the depictions of publishing (perfunctory). Our own view was closer to The Guardian’s \u2013 “a hugely entertaining account of a brazen literary heist” \u2013 or\u00a0 The Chicago Review of Books’ commendation of “Kuang\u2019s darkly witty tone, critiques of publishing and cultural exploitation, and the all-consuming nature of internet personas”. Should make for some interesting conversation …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"