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A debut novel of love, narcissism, and ailing cattleIdiopathy (ɪdɪˈɒpəθi): a disease or condition which arises spontaneously or for which the cause is unknown.Idiopathy: a novel as unexpected as its title, in which Katherine, Daniel, and Nathan—three characters you won’t forget in a hurry—unsuccessfully try to figure out how they feel about one another and how they might best live their lives in a world gone mad. Featuring a mysterious cattle epidemic, a humiliating stint in rehab, an unwanted pregnancy, a mom–turned–media personality (“Mother Courage”), and a workplace with a bio-dome housing a perfectly engineered cornfield, it is at once a scathing satire and a moving meditation on love and loneliness. With unusual verbal finesse and great humor, Sam Byers neatly skewers the tangled relationships and unhinged narcissism of a self-obsessed generation in a remarkable, uproarious first novel.
In a world defined by absurdity and social fragmentation, three individuals struggle to navigate their own narcissism and the inexplicable collapse of the structures around them. Katherine, Daniel, and Nathan find their lives intersecting in ways that highlight their inability to connect, even as they face external crises ranging from a mysterious cattle epidemic to personal professional failures. The narrative examines their attempts to find meaning within a landscape of media-obsessed culture and corporate artifice. Through a lens of sharp irony, the story tracks their erratic efforts to reconcile their internal desires with the demands of a society that seems increasingly detached from reality.
This novel is characterized by its acerbic wit and its willingness to lean into the absurdities of modern life. The prose suggests a focus on the friction between individual ego and the chaotic, often nonsensical nature of the external world. Readers likely encounter a narrative that prioritizes stylistic flair and cynical observation over traditional character redemption. The work functions as a mirror for a generation grappling with its own perceived importance against a backdrop of global uncertainty.
Page Count:
320
Publication Date:
2014-01-30
Publisher:
HarperCollins UK
ISBN-10:
000741210X
ISBN-13:
9780007412105
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