Absurdist

It’s not every protagonist who introduces herself to readers while in the middle of getting an intimate area waxed, but Rose Aslani isn’t every protagonist. She’s the quintessential new New York Gen Zer: being worked to death in media, living with a strange roommate who seems only vaguely familiar with being clothed, and fielding suggestions from her parents like, “Why don’t you email the New York Times and ask them for a job?” All the while, Rose is nursing an obsession with the titular Most Famous Girl in the World, Poppy Hastings. A couple of years ago, Poppy’s fake-socialite scam was exposed–by Rose–and she’s just gotten out of prison for those exploits, but it’s too little for her nemesis. Rose knows that Poppy’s scamming was the tip of a criminal iceberg, and she stalks the woman, who flaunts her zany, fibbing ways to every internet hack who’ll listen. The public can’t get enough of it, while Rose is accused at work of paranoia, dropped by a succession of therapists, and falling deeper into reliance on booze and pills. Then the journalist begins to receive texts that help her in her quest to take Poppy down, a quest on which she’s aided by dishy FBI agent Simon. The story takes on some serious themes, notably Rose’s lifelong feeling of alienation as the daughter of immigrants from Iran who love her (as will readers) but “[love] the idea of passing more.” Closing with several shocking twists, this is one for women who’ve had it and fans of the true-crime wave of podcasts and documentaries about scammers.

Not a mystery, but darn mysterious. The Northern Institute is located somewhere in the far north, the only place on the planet where the temperature continues to drop while the snowfall continues to increase. At some point, the vast building held hundreds of scientists, who were presumably studying life in such an extreme climate. But after an unexplained incident, the great building was quickly shut down to researchers. Today, the only residents are three caretakers, led by supervisor Hart, and one remaining scientist. Contact with the world comes from a weekly mail drop that, in addition to food, gives them their assignment for the next week; testing all the doors to determine if any squeak is a prime example. Life for the caretakers is so unspeakably dull—except for Hart, who’s sadly consumed by becoming a better manager—that when a strange object appears in the snow, where there is nothing else on the horizon except snow, the caretakers become obsessed with it. Forbidden to ever go outside, the mysterious snow sickness is given as one reason, the three gaze longingly at the object. Is its color changing? Is it moving? While they are instructed to ignore the object, that eventually becomes impossible, even for manager-in-training Hart, and the three venture out to confront their visitor. A satirical take on corporate life and a darkly suspenseful tale of isolation.

The Most Famous Girl in the World

The Thing in the Snow