Tournament of Books discussion

The New World, by Chris Adrian and Eli Horowitz


About the Book (from the book's description on GR)

What is the purpose of life?
If you could send a message to the future what would it be?
Why do you deserve, not desire, to live forever?

Acclaimed author Chris Adrian (The Children's Hospital, The Great Night) joins the award-winning creators of The Silent History – Eli Horowitz and Russell Quinn to create an innovative digital novel about memory, grief and love.

The New World is the story of a marriage. Dr. Jane Cotton is a pediatric surgeon: her husband, Jim, is a humanist chaplain. They are about to celebrate their eighth wedding anniversary when Jim suddenly collapses and dies. When Jane arrives at the hospital she is horrified to find that her husband’s head has been removed from his body. Only then does she discover that he has secretly enrolled with a shadowy cryogenics company called Polaris.

Furious and grieving, Jane fights to reclaim Jim from Polaris. Revived, in the future, Jim learns he must sacrifice every memory of Jane if he wants to stay alive in the new world. Separated by centuries, each of them is challenged to choose between love and fear, intimacy and solitude, life and grief, and each will find an answer to the challenge that is surprising, harrowing, and ultimately beautiful.



About the Authors

Chris Adrian (born 1970) is an American author. Adrian's writing styles in short stories vary greatly; from modernist realism to pronounced lyrical allegory. His novels both tend toward surrealism, having mostly realistic characters experience fantastic circumstances. He has written three novels: Gob's Grief, The Children's Hospital, and The Great Night. In 2008, he published A Better Angel, a collection of short stories. His short fiction has also appeared in The Paris Review, Zoetrope, Ploughshares, McSweeney's, The New Yorker, The Best American Short Stories, and Story. He was one of 11 fiction writers to receive a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2009. He lives in San Francisco. (from Wikipedia)

Eli Horowitz is the co-creator of The Silent History, a digital novel; The Clock Without a Face: A Gus Twintig Mystery, a treasure-hunt mystery; and Everything You Know Is Pong: How Mighty Table Tennis Shapes Our World, an illustrated cultural history of table tennis. He was the managing editor and then publisher of McSweeney’s; his design work has been honored by I.D.,
Print and the American Institute of Graphic Arts. Previously, he wrote science trivia questions based on popular films of the 1990s and was briefly employed as an apprentice carpenter. He was born in Virginia and now lives in Northern California. (from author's website)


Other Links

• Interview -- BuzzFeed: "McSweeney’s was one of the most significant indie publishing houses of the last 20 years — and Eli Horowitz was a central force behind it. Armed with an app-based novel that aspires to be the most bonkers book ever written, can he change that world again?" http://www.buzzfeed.com/annehelenpete...

• Review -- The Guardian: "The New World by Chris Adrian and Eli Horowitz review – ‘Am I alive?’ Originally conceived as a digital novel, this satirical story about cryogenically engineered immortality dissects the ironies and glories of marriage": http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015...

• Review: NPR: http://www.npr.org/2015/05/06/4047398...

• Interview: HuffPost Books: "Karen Russell Interviews Chris Adrian About Digital Books And Story Design": http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10...

Have you read this one yet? If not, does it appeal? Do you find the premise and form interesting? Let us know your thoughts about this book and its inclusion in TOB16.

I knew nothing about this book, so thanks very much for the background info. Knowing Chris wrote Gob's Grief (which I haven't read but have had on my shelves since it came out in paperback) makes me excited to read this one.

I really wanted to love this book, because it seemed different, but i only loved the first half. After that, it seemed the author just gave up. :(

I'm part of the way through, and while it seems like exactly the sort of book that would appeal to me, it's not really clicking. I want to tell the book, "it's not you, it's me."

I just finished this today, and I agree the first half was more satisfying than the second. It felt muddied to me and I found myself annoyed with the way it ended. Like the authors gave up a bit.

Yes, it felt very much like two different books to me: the first half a sort of Galaxy Quest meets Stepford Wives with an Erin Brockovich B-story. It was funny and different and I enjoyed it.
Then at some point it became fairly standard chick lit, story of a marriage with its good points and its bad points. I didn't enjoy that part as much, though it wasn't awful (for me I think it suffered by comparison to Fates & Furies, which I just finished). Was there a plot-driven reason why the book changed? I felt like I missed something about how the Polaris plotline resolved.

And that ending was one of the most horribly frustrating things I've ever seen in a book. I could hardly believe any publisher actually let them get away with that. 23 Kindle pages of it!!

I actually liked the second half more than the first. The first part reminded me of Atwood's The Heart Goes Last. There's something about the sci-fi parody aspect that I don't really enjoy. Jane and Jim's relationship was the heart of the story, so I felt like the first part was just teasing us until we could actually get to that story.

Mainon wrote: "And that ending was one of the most horribly frustrating things I've ever seen in a book. I could hardly believe any publisher actually let them get away with that. 23 Kindle pages of it!! "

That's apparently only in the digital version. The hardcopy I read only had a paragraph.

More effective, I think, would be if the ending were generated on the fly in the digital version, so that you could click forever and it would continue to go on and on.

Disappeared up its own oriface

By the time we got to the pointy end of the pyramid it was digital drivel. Ohh! How clever! What an interesting way to finish! Hogwash! It was indulgent gimmickry! (And that is the Kindle version without the coloured tabs and forward/backward swipes of the digital version)

The novel started out with such promise as futuristic genre writing. Its chapters changed in point of view and place in time. It was an interesting take on cryogenics and grief and love. But then it started to wallow ... and wallow ... and wallo ... and wall ... and (ok, you get the idea!).

It could have been a great short story rather than a novella (it was only 150 odd pages ... shorter actually if you don't count the rubbish at the end). Instead it became a Cheshire Cat, leaving you with nothing but a smug grin.

It's going to be interesting to see how the judges handle this one in the tourney. It's pretty lightweight. I found Jane and ...oops I forgotten the other forgettable character's name...to be utterly....unmemorable.
For a story about memory, there isn't a whole lot to take along beyond the last page. Not enough science to be sci-fi, not nearly enough good writing to be lit.
I would characterize it as a novella that should have been edited down to a short story with a bit more development to add a bit of punch. it was definitely missing punch.
I always applaud the Tournament staff for including fringe works in the dance, but i think they misfired with this one.

His name is Jim but in my head I just call him John and was surprised the author didn't go ahead and make the couple's last name Doe.

Julie wrote: "Disappeared up its own oriface

By the time we got to the pointy end of the pyramid it was digital drivel. Ohh! How clever! What an interesting way to finish! Hogwash! It was indulgent gimmickry! ..."

Indulgent gimmickry is a perfect description.

Ohenry, I think I agree with you too--I might have really liked this as a short story.

I finished this a few days ago. It has not stuck with me at all. I think I'm in the camp of enjoying the second half more than the first. Until the love and connection between them is explained, it was hollow and flat in the first half. But the idea that this man who so loves his wife and has such strong beliefs about the finality and surrender of death would elect to do this without telling her, or anyone, is nonsense.

I'm about 1/3 of the way through it, and have to say that so far it's triggering my Wittgenstein Jr. WTF button.

"Wittgenstein Jr. WTF button" YYYYYYEEEEEESSSSSSS! So perfect.

It's a cheesy love story. The first part reminded me of Atwood, though not as well written. The last two parts were more about their life, and I think just the headings, as relates to the 'afterlife' vs living, was more important than the actual stories contained within. I liked it for the sweetness, but am so far rooting for Oreo of the 4 I've read.

Maybe someone can help me. I was thinking about getting an ebook of this one and noticed two prices: 4.99 and 10.99. There are different covers, page #'s, and publication dates; are they really the same?

I read somewhere that the cheaper version is an earlier, incomplete one. However, you can read the entire thing for free online at https://read.atavist.com/the-new-worl....

Ok- thanks.

Mo wrote: "It's a cheesy love story. The first part reminded me of Atwood, though not as well written...

I'm reminded of Ubik as well during the Jim parts; Interesting concept, meh execution. Possibly inspiring something greater in future writing.

I hated The Children's Hospital (sounds like similar things as with this book-- intriguing setup, ridiculous ending) and vowed never to read Adrian again. If the discussion on ToB lures me in, maybe, but based on all of your comments so far-- I'm not running to pick it up.

Spoilers ahead.

Hmmm...not sure how I feel about this one. I feel like I missed a chapter or two. Does that make sense? For example, what happened to Jane in Brian's office with Poppy? He grew a beard for her? What was the test? To see if she was worth freezing? Did Jim have to go through the same process? Obviously not, but then why make her jump through so many hoops? So they just let her go after abducting a lawyer and his wife? Or at least made them disappear? But why? I'm so confused!!!

Julie wrote: "Disappeared up its own oriface

By the time we got to the pointy end of the pyramid it was digital drivel. Ohh! How clever! What an interesting way to finish! Hogwash! It was indulgent gimmickry! ..."

Wow, what a gift you have with words, Julie! That was a wonderfully snarky and descriptive review, and you confirmed that I was right to skip this one. Thanks!

I just finished this yesterday and feel that the quality of content in each half is approximately equal but that it misses connecting well together. I'm not sure if it is the chronology or actual lack of some critical piece of information but I found this better as an ideas book rather than a plot-driven 'what is life about?' journey of discovery as the GR's description makes it sound like. Instead of 'life,' I suspected this was more about what is 'after life' about, particularly in the absence of a belief in the afterlife. Maybe I'm reading too much into it but I kind of liked it even while I felt I was missing something. No way will this beat out ALL in the bracket though! :)

Amy wrote: "No way will this beat out ALL in the bracket though! :) ..."

Given that first-round upsets are common and ALL has a ton of haters. I could see Choire Sicha shooting it down in favor of The New World. Which I just finished and kind of liked. It definitely felt disjointed, and like @Dustin, I am confused over various plot points. I figure a second reading could clear up some of them but don't want to take the time. However, I did like it as a meditation on married love. JMHO.

Here are my thoughts:

Surreal, unsettling, puzzled yet curious are the words that came to mind when I finished this book.
The blurb sounded like this was just my type of book as I enjoy reading stories with a sci-fi futuristic element to them.
I will admit not knowing much cryogenics and what the current thoughts/projects are but was curious to see how it was handled in this book.
I liked how it was alternating chapters/narrators of Jane in the present, and Jim in the future that told their stories to their situation and relationship.
I was more engaged in the first half of the book and had already formed my opinions on Jane and Jim but then the storyline concentrated more on the relationship/marriage complexities which shaded by previous opinion regarding their relationship. I thought the transition between parts was not as smooth as it could be and felt jarring at times and I thought okay this is what it concentrating on now. By the end of the book the flaws/faults in the couple’s relationship are revealed and the introspection seems to have let the sci-fi vibe falter as well.
Overall this was a quick pleasant read for me but I was left not sure who the intended audience should be for this book.

This is the 3rd TOB I have read (not counting the books that I had previously read before the final TOB list was revealed).

But I will say that I liked it better than The Invaders and A Spool of Blue Thread.

I think the second half of the book would have been less frustrating/pointless if they would have continued telling the story of Jim after "death." There should have been a third part of this story.

Rudi wrote: "I think the second half of the book would have been less frustrating/pointless if they would have continued telling the story of Jim after "death." There should have been a third part of this story."

I think the absence of after 'death' narrative is intentional. Jim is an atheist and doesn't believe in anything after death but seems to come to a conclusion that he is supposed to be dead together with his wife to honor their time together. It remains up to the reader to decide if something happens to the both of them afterwards. Super frustrating but would be cheating to have a narrative that tells us what happens afterwards don't you think?

I'm with Amy on this one, as frustrating as it is... the lack of information gives more importance to the point of the story.