{"product_id":"the-way-inn-a-novel-isbn-9780062336101","title":"The Way Inn: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eUp in the Air\u003c\/em\u003e meets \u003cem\u003eInception\u003c\/em\u003e in this smart, innovative, genre-synthesizing novel from the acclaimed author of \u003cem\u003eCare of Wooden Floors\u003c\/em\u003e—hailed as “\u003cem\u003eFawlty Towers\u003c\/em\u003e crossed with Freud,” by the \u003cem\u003eDaily Telegraph\u003c\/em\u003e—that takes the polished surfaces of modern life, the branded coffee, and the free wifi, and twists them into a surrealistic nightmare of infinite proportions.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNeil Double is a “conference surrogate,” hired by his clients to attend industry conferences so that they don’t have to. It’s a life of budget travel, cheap suits, and out-of-town exhibition centers—a kind of paradise for Neil, who has reconstructed his incognito professional life into a toxic and selfish personal philosophy. But his latest job, at a conference of conference organizers, will radically transform him and everything he believes as it unexpectedly draws him into a bizarre and speculative mystery.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn a brand new Way Inn—a global chain of identikit mid-budget motels—in an airport hinterland, he meets a woman he has seen before in strange and unsettling circumstances. She hints at an astonishing truth about this mundane world filled with fake smiles and piped muzak. But before Neil can learn more, she vanishes. Intrigued, he tries to find her—a search that will lead him down the rabbit hole, into an eerily familiar place where he will discover a dark and disturbing secret about the Way Inn. Caught on a metaphysical Mobius strip, Neil discovers that there may be no way out.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003eFrom the acclaimed author of \u003cem\u003eCare of Wooden Floors\u003c\/em\u003e comes a multidimensional novel that twists the polished surfaces of modern business into a surrealistic nightmare of infinite proportions.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNeil Double is a \"conference surrogate,\" hired by his clients to attend industry conferences so that they don't have to. It's a life of budget travel, cheap suits, and exhibition centers—a kind of paradise for Neil. But his latest job, at a conference of conference organizers, will radically transform him and everything he believes as it draws him into a bizarre and speculative mystery. In a brand-new Way Inn—a global chain of mid-budget motels—in an airport hinterland, he wanders beyond a quotidian fire door and encounters a strange woman known to him only through his dreams. His world tessellates and the woman flees. His search for her will lead him to discover dark and disturbing secrets about the Way Inn, and reality itself. Trapped in a metaphysical Möbius strip, Neil must finally accept that there may be no way out of his mass-produced environment—and devise an impossible plan of escape.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eCare of Wooden Floors\u003c\/i\u003e:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Darkly humorous. . . . A strikingly original debut.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Utterly wonderful.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJ. Robert Lennon, author of Mailman and the forthcoming  See You in November\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This novel feels like a blend of Thomas Pynchon’s Entropy, John Cheever’s The Swimmer, Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell Tale Heart, and any of Robert Coover’s stories that push the limits of realistic actions.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNorth American Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e Praise for \u003ci\u003eThe Way Inn\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “I devoured this impressive and enthralling novel. If you ever explored hotel corridors or played in hotel lifts as a child, be glad it wasn’t in this hotel.’ - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAlison Moore, author of the Man Booker finalist The Lighthouse\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e“An ingenious and smartly funny novel.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDaily Mail (London)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Way Inn\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e is funny, clever and thrilling, its central conceit disturbing enough to demand that you read it outside, if you can.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I loved \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Way Inn\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e, [which] strikes me as the first authentically post-Ballardian vision of the world as it has become and as it is going to continue to be…Will Wiles is a mature, expert and wonderfully original talent.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eChristopher Priest, author of The Prestige\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Wonderfully original and bitingly funny…the finest social comedy…In the hierarchy of dystopian novels, \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Way Inn \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e  is special because it accurately describes the dystopia we are already living in. It is a stunningly good read. - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eStrange Horizons\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Highly idiosyncratic, well-written, with a vivid sense of place–and weirdly compelling.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMichael Frayn, author of Skios and Headlong\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“One of the funniest and cleverest books of the year.….Care of Wooden Floors reads like a farce directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and the novel’s denouement will surprise even the most jaded readers.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWashington Independent Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Fawlty Towers crossed with Freud.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDaily Telegraph (London)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“One of the most brilliant and entertaining literary debuts this year. The precision of his language and the care with which he delineates the characters and their environment is nothing less than astounding.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePittsburg Post-Gazette\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A nicely turned satire on the notion that the path to spiritual contentment lies in a pristine set of polished wooden floorboards... CARE OF WOODEN FLOORS indicates that Wiles has an eye for beauty, but an even more impressive eye for ugliness. It’s a novel full of impeccably stylish writing.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This is a terrific first novel, written with a very engaging deadpan wit, and an understated sense of the absurd.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Times (London)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“If you are a fan of Kafka, you should enjoy this novel, which is reminiscent of The Metamorphosis.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Thrilling, darkly comic disaster [is] lurking in every movement, wine bottle, and floorboard.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDaily Beast\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This novel has everything I look for: Line by line the sentences are a pleasure, page by page the story enthralls, and as a whole, the novel is expertly constructed, each precisely cut plank snapping perfectly into place. Clever, funny, creepy, atmospheric, and very entertaining. I realize that’s a lot of adjectives, but read the book and you’ll see.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCharles Yu, author of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Funny, beguiling, and quietly profound . . . a wonderfully well-crafted debut.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTimes Literary Supplement (London)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“If, like me, you’ve ever thought that your productivity and creativity would explode if only you could get organized, let this be a (morbidly funny) wakeup call….A precisely written debut from one who knows the value of letting loose.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMinneapolis Star Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Guffaw-out-loud moments…married to the horrified recognition that provokes empathy. A very funny novel provoking schadenfreude and belly laughs.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Independent\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper Perennial","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44888242159845,"sku":"NP9780062336101","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780062336101.jpg?v=1730228603","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-way-inn-a-novel-isbn-9780062336101","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}