Something New Under the Sun

A Novel

By: Alexandra Kleeman

Narrated by: Marin Ireland

NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE • A novelist discovers the dark side of Hollywood and reckons with ambition, corruption, and environmental collapse in “a darkly satirical reflection of ecological reality” (Time)

LONGLISTED FOR THE JOYCE CAROL OATES PRIZE • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, Time, Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Vulture, Thrillist, Literary Hub

“An urgent novel about our very near future, and a deeply addictive pleasure.”—Katie Kitamura, author of Intimacies

Novelist Patrick Hamlin has come to Los Angeles to oversee the film adaptation of one of his books and try to impress his wife and daughter back home with this last-ditch attempt at professional success. But California is not as he imagined. Drought, wildfire, and corporate corruption are everywhere, and the company behind a mysterious new brand of synthetic water seems to be at the root of it all. Patrick finds an unlikely partner in Cassidy Carter—the cynical starlet of his film—and the two investigate the sun-scorched city, where they discover the darker side of all that glitters in Hollywood.

Something New Under the Sun is an unmissable novel for our present moment—a bold exploration of environmental catastrophe in the age of alternative facts, and “a ghost story not of the past but of the near future” (The New York Times).

Genre-defying

The story is at once entertaining, suspenseful, allegorical, character-driven, flipped and relevant. The performance is stellar snd seamless. I loved it. I was not ready to like this book as much as I did. Every character as endearing and infuriating as only looking in the mirror can be. Brava!

INCREDIBLE

Kleeman is SO smart. I will never forget this book. The narration is incredible and I found myself caring about the characters so deeply.

Interesting premise

Not for me, though. I didn't care for the characters but stayed with the book until the end. Not sure it was worth the time.

Overwritten

If you use the phrase "spatchcocked pheasant" twice in the first 60 minutes, you're trying too hard.
And a published author being somehow roped into being a PA on a movie set, c'mon. I couldn't power through more than 70 minutes to get to any real story.

Ugh

This was so painful not even Marin’s perfect narration could save it. Save your time for anything else.