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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.
"Starred Review. [A] trenchant satirical novel ... Maum has such an incisive grasp of where tech and culture meet that she could add sociologist to her resume. ... A perceptive, thought-provoking read." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. In a work of zealous social critique laced with sexy romantic comedy ... Maum's incisive, charming, and funny novel ebulliently champions the healing powers of touch, the living world, and love in all its crazy risks, surprises, and sustaining radiance." - Booklist
"An uncomplicated novel about the complicated relationship between humans and the tech-heavy world." - Kirkus
"Maum (I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You) perfectly captures the zeitgeist of our era as technology battles with humanity. Her thought-provoking, humorous book will inspire readers to forgo the electronics and get back to basics as simple as human touch." - Library Journal
"Courtney Maum's latest novel offers us a balm, a solution, a call to action, or, at the very least, time away from our smartphones to read a compelling, perceptive, and moving story about the state of human intimacy and love in our contemporary era. Touch is at once wry and sincere, funny and serious, and you won't be able to put it down." - Edan Lepucki, author of California
"What begins as a satirical romp through the fields of trend forecasting and technology in Courtney Maum's Touch deepens into a trenchant and wise portrait of what it means to be fully human at a time when the culture is trying its hardest to make us only partially so." - Teddy Wayne, author of Loner and The Love Song of Jonny Valentine
"Maum's writing is sharp and complex - prepare to be touched by this novel is ways you might not expect." - Elizabeth McKenzie, National Book Award Finalist and author of The Portable Veblen
"Courtney Maum has somehow written a provocative meditation on human interaction in the technological age and a fun, touching beach read. I can't wait for it to spark all kinds of unexpected vacation discussions!" - Jade Chang, author of The Wangs vs. the World
This information about Touch was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Courtney Maum is the author of five previous books, including the romantic comedy Touch (New York Times Editors' Choice) about a tech worker's efforts to reclaim her humanity and the memoir The Year of the Horses chosen by the Today show as one of the best reads for mental health awareness. The author also of the groundbreaking publishing guidebook Before and After the Book Deal and the bestselling Substack newsletter by the same name, Maum is an educator and writing coach helping people hold on to the joy of art making in a culture obsessed with turning artists into brands. In addition to her creative writing, teaching, and advocacy work for writers at the Authors Guild, Maum worked internationally as a brand strategist and corporate namer in the advertising world for twenty years. Learn ...
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