The Grand Scheme of Things

An insightful look into the business of publishing when a young talented Eddie, her english name to make it easier for others to pronounce, is overlooked by all the top publishers. Despite her original play script and obvious talent she is unable to get past the first hurdle. That is until she hatches a plot with a stranger she meets in a coffee shop. Using his name as the author, Hugo and Eddie set out to prove just how racist,misogynistic and closed getting representation is.
Needless to say the door flies open for him and his/her play is assigned a budget, director and full on premier. The play is a huge success and all that's left is for the pair to reveal who the real talent is behind it. If only things would be that simple. Hugo, the talentless law student falls in love with the director, putting the big reveal in jeopardy. How will they navigate the system to recognise Eddie.
The novel presents the dilemma faced by many women in particularly women of colour as they attempt to gain credibility in a classist and privileged industry which openly exploits nepotism and race. Hugo,the young white student doesn't seem to grasp the internal politics until the very end, while his naivety is endearing you want to shake him at times.

A well written novel and I highly recommend.
Thank you NetGalley and ARC for the opportunity to read this.

I'm a reader and a writer. I love books about reading and writing and especially publishing. Publishing is such a closed world that it is wonderful to get a glimpse of how another writer views it.

This book is written from the points of view of Eddie (real name Naledi) and Hugo. They meet in a cafe where Eddie is writing her play. Hugo catches a glimpse of it and is intrigued. He would rather be an actor than be heading for the law career his family expect him to follow. In spite of her talent Eddie is getting nowhere with submissions. Only when she submits under an assumed name which hides the fact that she is female and black does she finally get a meeting with a top agent. Despite her hopes the agent is dismissive. Hugo and Eddie became friends and they resubmit the play under his name. This time the result is quite different.

I loved this book. It has so many interesting things to say about publishing, about how unequal and unfair it is, about white privilege and male privilege and nepotism. There are similarities to Yellowface but in my opinion this is much better. Highly recommended. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

Eddie Morua first meets Hugo Lawrence Smith in a cafe. While Eddie is outside smoking Hugo looks at her laptop and sees that she's writing a play. After their brief encounter they befreiend each other on Facebook. Her play finished Eddie sends it to agents with no success. Thinking that her full name,Relebogile Naledi Mpho Moruakgomo, which indicates her ethnicity is a barrier she sends it to an agent using a pseudonym suggesting that she's a white male and sure enough the agent is interested and asks to see her.............that interest suddenly dissolving when Eddie meets the agent in person,

When Hugo makes contact out of the blue,they hit on a "cunning plan" to subvert what Eddie sees as blatant racism and the play is resubmitted under the name of the good-looking,urbane ....and white, young man's name.................and it's a roaring success.As the saying goes,"what could possibly go wrong?".
Plenty as it happens and this is an entertaining story with a message,several messages in fact,about racism,loyalty ,friendship,relationships and much more. It's very funny,frequently moving and Eddie and Hugo are great characters.
I picked this up expecting something like "Yellowface" but in my opinion at least it's much better,there's a stronger message but it doesn't beat the reader over the head with it.
An excellent book by a very talented young author.

The story follows Eddie Moruakgomo, a Black, gay playwright, who believes her work won't get produced under her real name due to bias. She teams up with Hugo Lawrence Smith, a privileged white law graduate, in order to pass her play off as his, thus exposing the industry's prejudices.
There are some similarities to Yellowface with regards to racism within the arts industry, that said,
It’s a thought-provoking and engaging story and well worth a read.

Relegobile Naledi Mpho Moruakgomo is an aspiring playwright who graduates top of her class and writes a brilliant play that nobody wants to know about. She tries changing her name to get her foot in the door, but when the agents see that it is a black, female, foot, she is rejected once again. Until she meets Hugo Lawrence Smith, a wealthy, privileged white boy who wants to shake off a dull legal career and embrace life in the theatre. Between them, they cook up a scheme to get Eddie's play entwined with Hugo's privilege with the idea that they will, when success comes knocking, expose the racism and hypocrisy of the theatre world forever. Unfortunately things don't go entirely as planned.

When I first started this I had a sinking feeling that this would be too much like Yellowface by R. F. Kuang, but it defied all my expectations. This is smart, funny, angry and really clever. Jay's voice is fresh and the plot twists in ways that make this unpredictable in all the best ways and altogether a really satisfying read.

This was a really powerful novel exposing racism within the sector in a compelling but also entertaining way. The writing was sharp and I really didn't want it to end