Hark

A pure joy to read' Guardian

'...a dastardly hysterical take on modern day rhetoric and the eternal ridiculousness of it all. More than a 'must read,' Hark is a 'must believe!'' Paul Beatty, author of The Sellout

'Madcap and full of love, laughter and unexpected beauty (not to mention the world's greatest bone marrow smuggling scheme), if Hark doesn't make you stalk Sam Lipsyte and try to break up his marriage, then you are not human.' Gary Shteyngart, author of Super Sad True Love Story

'The world needed more Sam Lipsyte and Lipsyte, knowing this, perhaps, has given us Hark. It's a stellar work by a great satirist, an uncanny observer, a keen stylist, a truly fine and thrilling writer.' Patrick deWitt, author of The Sisters Brothers

In an America convulsed by political upheaval, cultural discord, environmental collapse and spiritual confusion, many folks are searching for peace, salvation, and - perhaps most immediately - just a little damn focus.

Enter Hark Morner, an unwitting guru whose technique of "Mental Archery" - a combination of mindfulness, mythology, fake history, yoga, and, well, archery - is set to captivate the masses and raise him to near-messiah status. It's a role he never asked for, and one he is woefully underprepared to take on. But his inner-circle of modern pilgrims have other plans, as do some suddenly powerful fringe players, including a renegade Ivy League ethicist, a gentle Swedish kidnapper, a crossbow-hunting veteran of jungle drug wars, a social media tycoon with an empire on the skids, and a mysteriously influential (but undeniably slimy) catfish.

In this social satire of the highest order, Sam Lipsyte, author of the bestselling novel The Ask and master of the form, reaches new peaks of daring in a novel that revels in contemporary absurdity and the wild poetry of everyday language while exploring the emotional truths of his characters - men, women and children seeking meaning and dignity in a chaotic, ridiculous and often dangerous world.