Touch by Courtney Maum
Release Date: May 30, 207
Genre: Satire; Literature & Fiction
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Son’s
Source: Penguin’s First Reads
"Courtney
Maum's exuberant new novel sends up the world of techie consumerism." --New
York Times Book Review
Belletrist's Book Pick for June
New York Times Book Review, Editors' Choice
Glamour, "The 6 Juiciest Summer Reads”
New York Post, “The 29 Best Books of the Summer”
Huffington Post, “24 Incredible Books You Should Read This Summer”
Buzzfeed, "22 Exciting Books You Need to Read This Summer"
Refinery 29, “The Best Reads of May Are Right Here”
From the author of the acclaimed I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You, a satirical and moving novel in the spirit of Maria Semple and Jess Walter about a New York City trend forecaster who finds herself wanting to overturn her own predictions, move away from technology, and reclaim her heart.
Sloane Jacobsen is one of the world's most powerful trend forecasters (she was the foreseer of “the swipe”), and global fashion, lifestyle, and tech companies pay to hear her opinions about the future. Her recent forecasts on the family are unwavering: the world is over-populated, and with unemployment, college costs, and food prices all on the rise, having children is an extravagant indulgence.
So it’s no surprise when the tech giant Mammoth hires Sloane to lead their groundbreaking annual conference, celebrating the voluntarily childless. But not far into her contract, Sloane begins to sense the undeniable signs of a movement against electronics that will see people embracing compassion, empathy, and “in-personism” again. She’s struggling with the fact that her predictions are hopelessly out of sync with her employer's mission and that her closest personal relationship is with her self-driving car when her partner, the French “neo-sensualist” Roman Bellard, reveals that he is about to publish an op-ed on the death of penetrative sex—a post-sexual treatise that instantly goes viral. Despite the risks to her professional reputation, Sloane is nevertheless convinced that her instincts are the right ones, and goes on a quest to defend real life human interaction, while finally allowing in the love and connectedness she's long been denying herself.
A poignant and amusing call to arms that showcases her signature biting wit and keen eye, celebrated novelist Courtney Maum’s new book is a moving investigation into what it means to be an individual in a globalized world.
Belletrist's Book Pick for June
New York Times Book Review, Editors' Choice
Glamour, "The 6 Juiciest Summer Reads”
New York Post, “The 29 Best Books of the Summer”
Huffington Post, “24 Incredible Books You Should Read This Summer”
Buzzfeed, "22 Exciting Books You Need to Read This Summer"
Refinery 29, “The Best Reads of May Are Right Here”
From the author of the acclaimed I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You, a satirical and moving novel in the spirit of Maria Semple and Jess Walter about a New York City trend forecaster who finds herself wanting to overturn her own predictions, move away from technology, and reclaim her heart.
Sloane Jacobsen is one of the world's most powerful trend forecasters (she was the foreseer of “the swipe”), and global fashion, lifestyle, and tech companies pay to hear her opinions about the future. Her recent forecasts on the family are unwavering: the world is over-populated, and with unemployment, college costs, and food prices all on the rise, having children is an extravagant indulgence.
So it’s no surprise when the tech giant Mammoth hires Sloane to lead their groundbreaking annual conference, celebrating the voluntarily childless. But not far into her contract, Sloane begins to sense the undeniable signs of a movement against electronics that will see people embracing compassion, empathy, and “in-personism” again. She’s struggling with the fact that her predictions are hopelessly out of sync with her employer's mission and that her closest personal relationship is with her self-driving car when her partner, the French “neo-sensualist” Roman Bellard, reveals that he is about to publish an op-ed on the death of penetrative sex—a post-sexual treatise that instantly goes viral. Despite the risks to her professional reputation, Sloane is nevertheless convinced that her instincts are the right ones, and goes on a quest to defend real life human interaction, while finally allowing in the love and connectedness she's long been denying herself.
A poignant and amusing call to arms that showcases her signature biting wit and keen eye, celebrated novelist Courtney Maum’s new book is a moving investigation into what it means to be an individual in a globalized world.
My Thought’s:
Courtney Maum is amazing!
I can’t begin to describe how I feel after reading Touch. From start to finish I
laughed and cried. Well more like teared up but still. The characters are
amazingly portrayed and I never wanted the book to end it was that good.
Great read! I give
Touch five stars!
Biography
Courtney Maum is the
author of the critically acclaimed debut novel, "I Am Having So Much Fun
Here Without You," the forthcoming novel "Touch" and the
chapbook, "Notes from Mexico." Her short fiction, book reviews, and
essays on the writing life have been widely published in outlets such as The
New York Times, Tin House, Electric Literature, O Magazine and BuzzFeed, and
she has co-written films that have debuted at Sundance and won awards at
Cannes. At various points in her life, she has been a trend forecaster, a
fashion publicist, and a party promoter for Corona Extra. She currently works
as a product namer for companies like M·A·C cosmetics and Target.courtneymaum.com
Twitter: cmaum
Instagram: cbmaum
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/courtneymaumbooks/
