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Kathy Wang.Credit: Nina Subin; HarperCollins
I didn’t examine it for a long time.
Can you tell us more about the idea that you couldn’t get out of your head?
And more scenarios kept coming to me.
From the beginning knew I wanted Julia to be white and Alice to be Asian.
I didn’t want to put out the idea that a Chinese character can’t be trusted.
I really wanted Alice to be the heroine.
What was it about the Russian spy infrastructure that felt compelling to you?
I wanted readers to be able to understand why people act the way they do.
That will bring outsized personalities.
It allows you to reinforce your own righteousness, and that can spiral.
No one’s ever asked me that before.
I think Alice’s reaction to her would differ.
I don’t think that would have existed with a male COO.
Julia is also a mother of a young baby…
It’s such a complicated issue.
There are some elements that tie in to your life, personally.
Were any of them hard to write?
As I originally wrote it, I got some feedback that it was too violent.
I wanted that scene in there, and I didn’t necessarily want their family to get a resolution.
I think the general population can understand that now, given what’s happened.
I think any Asian American who grew up in this area would know what I’m talking about.
At the same time, I don’t like when white characters in a book are cartoonishly villainous.
It’s really complicated, and I took a lot of care to convey that.
