Becoming fed up with being a background character, Willis loudly proclaims about wanting to be something greater and is given a "recurring guest spot" on Black and White, working with the show's main leads Dets.

[12] Yu also discussed the novel in an interview with Scott Simon on NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday on January 25, 2020,[13] and in an appearance on Los Angeles Review of Books (LARB) Radio Hour with Medaya Ocher and Kate Wolf on February 3, 2020.

[14] In an interview with Timothy Tau for Hyphen, Yu remarked that his influences for the novel included Paul Beatty's Man Booker Prize-winning novel The Sellout as well as the "cyclical structure" of the film Groundhog Day.

[11] Anita Felicelli of the San Francisco Chronicle called the novel's format "groundbreaking" and wrote that Yu "solders together mordant wit and melancholic whimsy to produce a moving exploration of race and assimilation".

[18] Pete Hsu of the Los Angeles Review of Books praised the accessibility of the novel's allegory and its commentary on the human condition, as well as the "meticulously crafted" details of the novel which "render a universe that feels complete to the touch".

[19] Josh Denslow of the Washington Independent Review of Books wrote that the story is "told with humor and affection and a deep understanding of human nature".

[20] Jaclyn Fulwood of Shelf Awareness wrote, "Yu's format-bending, deeply felt examination of the American dream is an exercise in encouraged empathy.