The Unwanted: A Novel

 Fishman’s worldbuilding is impeccable…. He skillfully ramps up the tension…. Fans of dystopian classics like 1984 will find much to savor in Fishman’s spellbinding tale.”— Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"The Unwanted is a tightrope of a novel: tense, precise, stunning in its scope and power."—Tea Obreht, New York Times bestselling author of The Morningside

“Urgently contemporary and prescient in equal measure, Fishman’s The Unwanted channels the spectrum of literature’s finest, emotionally visceral dystopian masterworks, from Dune to The Handmaid’s Tale, in a fable of survival, resistance and, ultimately, maternal love.”—Lea Carpenter, author of Ilium

Award-winning, New York Times Notable author of A Replacement Life—“a born storyteller with a tremendous gift for language” (San Francisco Chronicle)— delivers a fierce and staggering new dystopian page-turner full of cruelty, tenderness, and heroism, a gripping story of family survival about a young girl and her parents fleeing civil war and the brutal dictatorship that has targeted their family.

Susanna, George, and their eight-year-old daughter, Dina, have been lucky, so far, in these four years since war broke out in their country. Even as their fellow "minority-sect" neighbors and classmates are murdered or imprisoned, George’s loyal work teaching "dominant-sect" literature has kept them fed and protected. But then the day comes: the university fires George—despite his years of collaboration, he is no longer safe. Left without money or allies, it is time for the family to run.

Embarking on a harrowing refugee journey through camps and across the sea, both George and Susanna are forced in their own ways to make sacrifices to keep Dina safe, while Dina fights to understand the chaotic world crashing down around her. But with each member of the family struggling to survive in circumstances beyond their control, lies and betrayals multiply until it seems impossible for any of them to reach across the abyss. The Unwanted is a stunning story of what the most powerless among us will do for dignity and safety.

"Urgently contemporary and prescient in equal measure, Fishman’s The Unwanted channels the spectrum of literature’s finest, emotionally visceral dystopian masterworks, from Dune to The Handmaid’s Tale, in a fable of survival, resistance and, ultimately, maternal love."  - Lea Carpenter, author of Ilium

"The Unwanted is Boris Fishman's best book yet—one of the best books I've read in years, in fact. But don't call it an allegory. It's entirely too convincing, too human, and too humane for that. In telling the story of a family pushed to the brink by events and perceptions they can do nothing to alter, Fishman has delivered something truly sophisticated—sophisticated artistically but also morally. A harrowing novel for equally harrowing times." - Tom Bissell, bestselling author of Creative Types

"The Unwanted is a tightrope of a novel: tense, precise, stunning in its scope and power" - Téa Obreht, New York Times bestselling author of The Morningside and The Tiger's Wife

“Breathtakingly propulsive, sweeping in scope, and astoundingly timely, The Unwanted depicts the before, during, and after of a refugee family’s terrifying flight from an unnamed war-torn region. With profound tenderness, the novel depicts its heroine’s hard-fought triumph over brutality in a world teeming with broken people, nations, and promises.” - Ada Calhoun, New York Times bestselling author of Why We Can’t Sleep

“A rousing near-future saga. . . . Fishman’s worldbuilding is impeccable. . . . He skillfully ramps up the tension. . . . Fans of dystopian classics like 1984 will find much to savor in Fishman’s spellbinding tale.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Most Anticipated: Literary Hub

“Fishman effectively captures the fear, malaise, and desperation that comes with others’ control of our movements. . . . An informed, earnest . . . tale of escape.” - Kirkus Reviews

"A tense, haunting work that will resonate with many readers in these uncertain times." - Booklist (starred review)