Wellness

a thought-provoking story of a modern marriage, from the bestselling author of The Nix

By: Nathan Hill

Narrated by: Ari Fliakos

'American storytelling at its era-spanning best . . . An immersive, multi-layered portrait of a marriage, Nathan Hill’s follow-up to The Nix is a work of quiet genius' – The Observer

An Oprah's Book Club Pick.

Moving from the gritty 90s Chicago art scene to a suburbia of detox diets and home renovation hysteria, Wellness is a thought-provoking exploration of intimacy, identity, and the absurdities of our tech-obsessed health culture.

When Jack and Elizabeth meet as college students in the 90s, the two quickly join forces and hold on tight, each eager to claim a place in Chicago’s thriving underground art scene with an appreciative kindred spirit.

Fast-forward twenty years to married life, and the no-longer-youthful dreamers are forced to face their demons, from unfulfilled career ambitions to painful childhood memories of their own dysfunctional families. In the process, Jack and Elizabeth must undertake separate, personal excavations, or risk losing the best thing in their lives: each other.

From the author of The Nix, Wellness mines the absurdities of modern technology and modern love to reveal profound, startling truths about intimacy and connection, reimagining the love story with healthy doses of insight, irony and heart.

'The incredible scope of this dazzlingly detailed state-of-the-nation satire almost defies description . . . Brilliant doesn’t begin to describe it, but I’ll say it anyway' – Daily Mail

Critic reviews

American storytelling at its era-spanning best . . . An immersive, multi-layered portrait of a marriage, Nathan Hill’s follow-up to The Nix is a work of quiet genius . . . tackling a few big questions. What is truth? What is love? And therefore, inevitably, what is true love?

The incredible scope of this dazzlingly detailed state-of-the-nation satire almost defies description . . . Brilliant doesn’t begin to describe it, but I’ll say it anyway.

Future historians, read this book . . . a crackling, witty chronicle of the world of the urban creative classes from the 1990s to now . . . I doubt I'll enjoy many books this year as much as Wellness.

A reader emerges from Hill’s world of Wellness with a keener eye for the tragicomic maladies of marriage, and a greater ear for the strangely affecting rhythms and algorithms of 21st-century life.

A bewitching, sophisticated book

Wellness is not some naive, crunchy-granola midlife-crisis novel . . . [it] is a clear-eyed look at the difficulty to live honestly in a world where authenticity may be the most challenged idea of all.

A clever satire on America's self-deluding 'wellness' class . . . The variety and ingenuity of Hill's satirical prods – from real-estate development to Facebook algorithms – is impressive.

This soulful satire takes aim at everything from gentrification to 'life hacks'. But it's also ambitious – and some nifty plotting by Hill reveals just how entangled contentment is with the stories we tell about ourselves.

This brilliant novel will leave you thinking about the truth of your own life and the stories we tell ourselves and each other. (Oprah Winfrey)

A compassionate satire of messy America

Hill's storytelling abilities are impressive . . . His novels vividly capture lonely Midwestern childhoods and real yearning for connection and understanding.

Wellness is a perfect novel for our age . . . It's beyond remarkable, both funny and heartbreaking, sometimes on the same page.

Hill is witty at exposing the ways intelligence and social background don’t necessarily make us more immune to manipulation.

I read Hill’s novel with excitement and close to a sense of disbelief that there is still a writer out there who is intrigued by amplitude and by what fiction can do if pushed far enough. (Daphne Merkin, The Atlantic)

Wellness brilliantly blends ideas about wellness culture, modern parenting, Internet algorithms, gentrification, and most importantly, love.

This new novel from the author of 2016 bestseller The Nix certainly packs a lot into its pages – parenting trends, the wellness industry, the meaning of art, conspiracy theories – all explored through scenes from the 20-year marriage between Elizabeth and Jack, as the pair grow together and apart again. Meaty but very readable

The story and the writing

I Thoroughly enjoyed the storyline. Well written and thought provoking. Would have enjoyed different narrators.

Astute observations of the complexity of daily loving

Nathan Hill has nailed the art of describing the complexity of love and wellness and contentment and what it means to live in relation to others. I can't stop thinking about this book and am already planning a reread.

Great writing, excellent narration

Another outstanding book - every bit as good as the Nix. Tragic yet hopeful and always entertaining.

Fantastic novel, incredible reading

I didn’t expect such a beautifully crafted novel; moving, interesting, heartbreaking. And the incredible performance of the actor makes it even better

Profound, relatable and current

A sharp critic of the current wellness culture. Nathan managed to touch most of the points that interfere with nowadays relationships. A true Zeitgeist exploration