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Literary Fiction
Historical Fiction
Short Stories
Essays
Poetry & Novels in Verse
Thrillers
Romance
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Biography/Memoir
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Literary Fiction
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Biography/Memoir
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| Critics: |
A bold and inventive novel about real romance in the virtual workplace—bringing Castillo's trademark wit and sharp cultural criticism to an irresistible story about the possible future of love.
Girlie Delmundo is the greatest content moderator in the world, and despite the setbacks of financial crises, climate catastrophe, and a global pandemic, she's going places: she's getting a promotion. Now thanks to her parent company Paragon's purchase of Fairground—the world's preeminent virtual reality content provider—she's on the way to becoming an elite VR moderator, playing in the big leagues and, if her enthusiastic bosses are to be believed, moderating the next stage of human interaction.
Despite the isolation that virtual reality requires from colleagues, friends, and family, the unbelievable perks of her new job mean she can solve a lot of her family's problems with money and mobility. She doesn't have to think about the childhood home they lost back in the Bay Area, or history at all—she can just pay any debts that come due. But when she meets William Cheung, Playground's wry, reticent co-founder (now Chief Product Officer) and slowly unearths some of his secrets, and finds herself somehow falling in love, she'll learn that history might be impossible to moderate and the future utterly impossible to control.
"Castillo shifts seamlessly in scale and tone, from a wide-angled systems novel to a love story, and from barbed satire to staggering emotional depth. It's a triumph." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A brilliant novel with much to say about work, family, excess, identity, and love." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Castillo's flinty satire of the tech industry [transforms] into a sultry romance novel. As we watch Girlie's defenses melt, the book shows a woman slowly surrendering to human experiences that can't be controlled."
—The Atlantic
"Fantastically, and terrifyingly, human."
—The Observer
"A story made fresh by a vivid and dexterous narrative voice, a voice that is by turns sardonically attentive to the specificities of each world and alive to the interfaces between them. A voice that lays worlds open for us to read."
—Locus
"A love story for those who love Severance (both Ling Ma's book and the unaffiliated Apple TV+ series), Moderation is ambitious, challenging, and brilliant."
—Elle
"Elaine Castillo returns with piercing insights in her second novel."
—Alta Journal
"As our world becomes more virtual, so too does romance. That shift grounds Castillo's intriguing latest, where one of the world's best content moderators must contend with falling in love during a digital—and increasingly isolated—era."
—The Millions
Elaine Castillo, named one of "30 of the Planet's Most Exciting Young People" by the Financial Times, was born and raised in the Bay Area. Her debut novel, America Is Not the Heart, was a finalist for numerous prizes including the Elle Big Book Award, the Center for Fiction Prize, and the Aspen Words Literary Prize and was named a best book of 2018 by NPR, Real Simple, Lit Hub, The Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, The New York Post, Kirkus Reviews, and the New York Public Library.
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