Dear Cyborgs: A Novel

Dear Cyborgs: A Novel

<p><b>A Summer Read Pick by <i>Nylon, Boston Globe, Buzzfeed, Wired </i>and <i>Vol. 1 Brooklyn</i></b></p><p>"Eugene Lim's <i>Dear Cyborgs </i>is a mad badass fan letter to comicdom and a chastening reminder of how America's greatest fantasy doesn't involve superheroes with superpowers but the prospect of a fair and honest political life. Go read it in the streets."<b> ―</b>Joshua Cohen, author of <i>Book of Numbers</i></p><p>In a small Midwestern town, two Asian American boys bond over their outcast status and a mutual love of comic books. Meanwhile, in an alternative or perhaps future universe, a team of superheroes ponder modern society during their time off. Between black-ops missions and rescuing hostages, they swap stories of artistic malaise and muse on the seemingly inescapable grip of market economics. </p><p>Gleefully toying with the conventions of the novel, <i>Dear Cyborgs </i>weaves together the story of a friendship’s dissolution with a provocative and timely meditation on protest. Through a series of linked monologues, a lively cast of characters explores narratives of resistance―protest art, eco-terrorists, Occupy squatters, pyromaniacal militants―and the extent to which any of these can truly withstand and influence the cold demands of contemporary capitalism. All the while, a mysterious cybernetic book of clairvoyance beckons, and trusted allies start to disappear.</p><p>Entwining comic-book villains with cultural critiques, Eugene Lim’s <i>Dear Cyborgs </i>is a fleet-footed literary exploration of power, friendship, and creativity. Ambitious and knowing, it combines detective pulps, subversive philosophy, and Hollywood chase scenes, unfolding like the composites and revelations of a dream.</p>