First published 2010
Lenny Abramov writes in his diary as America crumbles. The thirty-nine-year-old son of a Russian immigrant works at Post-Human Services, selling immortality to the wealthy while his own cholesterol-laden body fails him. In a world where books are called "printed, bound media artifacts" and most people find them repulsive, Lenny clings to reading and writing. He falls for Eunice Park, a twenty-four-year-old Korean American who studied Images and Assertiveness at Elderbird College. She calls him an "ancient dork" but helps him buy flame-resistant clothes and learn proper dental hygiene. Meanwhile, credit crises destroy the economy, riots erupt in Central Park, and National Guard tanks patrol New York streets. The dollar becomes worthless as Chinese creditors prepare to collect on America's debts. Citizens rate each other's "hotness" and "sustainability" through digital devices. Lenny must prove to Eunice that genuine human connection matters more than algorithmic compatibility in their disintegrating society.
Genres: dystopia, american-fiction, contemporary, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: America, Central Park, New York
Period: 21st-century
331 pages · Hardcover · Random House Publishing Group
Content warnings: depression, mental-illness