First published 2022
In a dystopian future, a grandfather writes to his grandson about maintaining ideals when the world crumbles. Deep underground in Colorado, Brian works in a Hell-themed amusement park section, questioning whether his reality is what it seems. During a violent hailstorm, two women who once loved the same man face hard truths about their lives. Eighty-nine-year-old Elliott Spencer discovers his memory has been wiped clean, his mind reprogrammed by people who exploit the poor and vulnerable as political pawns. These characters navigate worlds where power corrupts, ethics blur, and survival demands difficult choices. Saunders crafts nine interconnected tales that move between brutal realities and strange fantasies, examining how people maintain their humanity when systems fail them. The stories ask whether community can survive when trust breaks down and whether individuals can resist forces that seek to control their thoughts and actions.
Genres: fiction, science-fiction, dystopia, literary-fiction
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Colorado
Period: Dystopian Future
256 pages · Hardcover · Random House
Content warnings: mental-illness