{"product_id":"users-isbn-9781593767372","title":"Users","description":"\u003cb\u003eFinalist for the PEN\/Faulkner Award for Fiction\u003cbr\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e Editors' Choice\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMarrying the philosophical absurdities of life, technology, start-up culture, and family, \u003ci\u003eUsers\u003c\/i\u003e is for readers of Ling Ma, Dave Eggers’s \u003ci\u003eThe Circle\u003c\/i\u003e, and viewers of the hit Apple TV+ original series \u003ci\u003eSeverance\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMiles, a lead creative at a midsize virtual reality company known for its “original experiences,” has engineered a new product called The Ghost Lover. Wildly popular from the outset, the “game” is simple: a user’s simulated life is almost identical to their reality, except they’re haunted by the ghost of an ex-lover.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHowever, when a shift in the company's strategic vision puts The Ghost Lover at the center of a platform-wide controversy, Miles becomes the target of user outrage, and starts receiving a series of anonymous death threats. Typed notes sealed in envelopes with no postage or return address, these persistent threats push Miles into a paranoid panic, blurring his own sense of reality, catalyzing the collapse of his career, his marriage, and his relationship with his children.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe once-promising road to success becomes a narrow set of choices for Miles, who, in a last ditch effort to save his job, pitches his masterpiece, a revolutionary device code-named the Egg, which will transform the company. The consequences for Miles seal him inside the walls of his life as what was once anxiety explodes into devastating absoluteness.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn a world rife with the unchecked power and ambition of tech, \u003ci\u003eUsers\u003c\/i\u003e investigates—with both humor and creeping dread—how interpersonal experiences and private decisions influence the hasty developments that have the power to permanently alter the landscape of human experience.\u003cb\u003eFinalist for the PEN\/Faulkner Award for Fiction\u003cbr\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e Editors' Choice\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNylon\u003c\/i\u003e, A Must-Read Book of the Month\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e, A Best Book We Read This Week\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eElle\u003c\/i\u003e, A Most Anticipated Title of the Year\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Millions\u003c\/i\u003e, A Most Anticipated Read\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Told in refreshingly unadorned prose that lets Winnette’s characters and ideas shine . . . \u003ci\u003eUsers\u003c\/i\u003e is not only a book for today or a warning about tomorrow, but a timeless and moving story about fatherhood and one man’s yearning for a more meaningful life.\" —Jessamine Chan, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A perceptive, subtly moving novel . . . Winnette’s thoughtful depiction gives [Miles] a heart that’s not beyond redemption.” —Kevin Canfield, \u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The juxtaposition of its folktale-dark tone with the gleaming, upper-class world of consumer technology it sends up leaves a lasting impression—as does Winnette’s talent for leaving the reader to imagine the horrors just outside the story’s edges, as a good campfire yarn-spinner should.\" —Derek Robertson, \u003ci\u003eWashington Examiner\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eUsers\u003c\/i\u003e asks its readers to wonder what lurks in the depths of any given person’s mind—or, more alarming, what technology and the Internet may have inserted there—and whether those depths are, perhaps, shallower than they used to be . . . Among the novel’s strengths is Winnette’s ability to capture the dissatisfaction that life online generates . . . Miles's downward spiral is an effective and upsetting reminder that there’s more to lose on the Internet than just time and money.\" —Lily Meyer, \u003ci\u003eThe Nation\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This book brings the suspense and dread of \u003ci\u003eSeverance\u003c\/i\u003e to the life of a VR game developer. I finished it in about two days (a record for me in a year of infrequent reading).\" —Jordan McMahon, \u003ci\u003eNew York Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Gripping, clever, and terrifying, Users sucks you in just like a video game.\" —Adrienne Westenfeld, \u003ci\u003eEsquire\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"[A] sharp, Charlie Kauffman-esque thriller.\" —Leah Greenblatt, \u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Fans of Apple TV+'s \u003ci\u003eSeverance\u003c\/i\u003e will enjoy this workplace novel.\" —Milan Polk, \u003ci\u003eMen's Health\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A speculative marvel as well as a work of entertaining fiction . . . Haunting, real, and at times funny, \u003ci\u003eUsers\u003c\/i\u003e is a downwards comedy of errors of disastrous proportions.\" —Sam Franzini, \u003ci\u003eOur Culture Mag\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A thoughtful exploration of parasocial relationships or the way real ones can turn into odd hauntings.\" —Megan Crouse,\u003ci\u003e Den of Geek\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This one is a mind-boggling ride . . . breathtaking and mind opening and more original than anything being produced for a semi large audience . . . The story will force you to consider the meaning of authentic experience, and it might punch you in the gut.\" —Mark Dago, \u003ci\u003eBig Shiny Robot\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A disquieting cautionary tale for an age of virtual spaces.\" —\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"An engaging story of a virtual reality designer stuck in a rut . . . In Winnette’s hands, the dangerous blur between the virtual and reality provides both a warning and a thrill.\" —\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A surreal puzzle box and page-turner from which the reader may never recover, full of the unique absurdity, dark humor, and character insight that make Colin Winnette’s work such a joy.” —Jeff Vandermeer, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of the Southern Reach Trilogy and \u003ci\u003eHummingbird Salamander\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eUsers\u003c\/i\u003e is the best kind of book: both thrillingly old-fashioned, and utterly, daringly timely. Winnette captures the anxiety and paranoia of the current age in a tale that will have you ripping through the pages. Haunting, clever, witty, terrifying, moving; reader, I loved it.” —Andrew Sean Greer, winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for \u003ci\u003eLess\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eUsers\u003c\/i\u003e creeps upon the reader like the well-designed programs it describes, disguising itself as a tome about the future, virtual reality, the tech world, and what tantalizing dangers it wreaks. But what is truly frightening about this extraordinary book is the center of its futuristic shell—an unsettling look at marriage, parenting, and relationships that will lurk in the reader's mind long after the final page. Colin Winnette has written a delicious nightmare. Welcome to its open maw.” —Esmé Weijun Wang, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Collected Schizophrenias\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"In gripping prose and disturbingly sharp focus, Colin Winnette presents us with a not-too-distant future where technology and selfhood have become completely entangled. \u003ci\u003eUsers\u003c\/i\u003e shows how we can become addicted to our customizable versions of reality, both on and offline—and how tenuous the boundary between these two realms can be. I kept thinking about this novel long after I put it down.\" —Hernan Diaz, Pulitzer Prize Finalist, author of \u003ci\u003eIn the Distance\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eTrust\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eCOLIN WINNETTE’s\u003c\/b\u003e books include \u003ci\u003eCoyote\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHaints Stay\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Job of the Wasp\u003c\/i\u003e, which was an American Booksellers Association’s Indie Next Pick. Winnette’s writing has appeared in numerous publications, including \u003ci\u003ePlayboy\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eMcSweeney’s\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e The Believer\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Paris Review Daily\u003c\/i\u003e. A former bookseller in Texas, Vermont, New York, and California, he is now a writer living in San Francisco.","brand":"Soft Skull","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46300885450981,"sku":"NP9781593767372","price":27.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781593767372.jpg?v=1767743341","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/users-isbn-9781593767372","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}