This is such an illuminating story of racism in publishing, implicit and not, as well as the attachment of artist and art, friendship and envy, theft and ownership. I adore Kuang’s writing and this was no exception, beautifully composed and captivating the whole way through. My only complaint is that parts of the plot felt a little predictable and cliche- maybe that’s part of the point but there was a few moments where I felt it fell a little short. The most interesting element however is Kuang’s inversion of the unreliable narrator into the context of race and villainisation- it was so strangely twisted and sickening to see the protagonist?’s flaws and their reflection in wider society!