Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Oval

Oval

Wilk, Elvia

Paperback

HumorMystery & ThrillerLiterary Fiction

Publisher Price: $17.95

ISBN10: 1593764057
ISBN13: 9781593764050
Publisher: Soft Skull
Published: Jun 4 2019
Pages: 352
Weight: 0.80
Height: 1.30 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.20
Language: English
Bizarre weather. Unprecedented economic disparity. Artists employed by corporations. And the ultimate work of art: Oval, a pill that increases generosity. This unforgettable debut novel asks questions of empathy and power on every scale--from bodies to bureaucracies--to create an unsettling portrait of the future.

In the near future, Berlin's real estate is being flipped in the name of sustainability, only to make the city even more unaffordable; artists are employed by corporations as consultants, and the weather is acting strange. When Anja and Louis are offered a rent-free home on an artificial mountain--yet another eco-friendly initiative run by a corporation--they seize the opportunity, but it isn't long before the experimental house begins malfunctioning.

After Louis's mother dies, Anja is convinced he has changed. At work, Louis has become obsessed with a secret project: a pill called Oval that temporarily rewires the user's brain to be more generous. While Anja is horrified, Louis believes he has found the solution to Berlin's income inequality. Oval is a fascinating portrait of the unbalanced relationships that shape our world, as well as a prescient warning of what the future may hold.

A fascinating near-future exploration of relationships, sustainability, and power. An extraordinarily accomplished debut novel. --Jeff VanderMeer, author of Borne and Annihilation

Elvia Wilk's Oval is a marvel. At the core of this seductive, acute, superbly-contemporary update of mid-period J.G. Ballard lies a deep-beating, deep-dreaming heart. --Jonathan Lethem

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