The Visitors

C is a divorced, alone, and broke textile artist who is struggling with her business, bills, a new erotic interest in her oldest girlfriend, and a persistent hallucination of a rogue garden gnome. She needs to put her medical debt and sex life in order, but how to make concrete plans with this little visitor haunting her apartment? The Visitors is a mordantly funny tour through a world where civic infrastructure and our darkest desires are vulnerable to malware, mythical creatures talk like Don DeLillo, and love is little more than a blip in our metadata. It peers into How We Got Here and asks What We Do Next, charting the last days of a broken status quo as the path is cleared for something new.

Format: Hardback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 07 June 2022
Publisher: And Other Stories

On the eve of the Occupy Wall Street protests, C finds herself in a precarious financial situation. Once a renowned textile artist, she now operates an arts supply store in Lower Manhattan, serving as the sole proprietor. Divorced, alone, and feeling adrift, C is grappling with a struggling business, mounting bills, a newfound romantic interest in her oldest girlfriend, and a persistent hallucination in the form of a rogue garden gnome with an insatiable fascination for systems collapse. C's life is a complex tapestry of challenges, and she must navigate a maze of personal and professional obstacles to find a way forward.

Firstly, C faces the daunting task of addressing her medical debt and restoring order to her sex life. However, with this enigmatic visitor haunting her apartment, sporting a three-piece suit and delivering impromptu lectures on the vulnerability of the national grid, C's plans seem to be hindered. Moreover, the presence of computer code in the story of her life adds an additional layer of mystery and intrigue. C questions its significance and wonders if it holds the key to unlocking the answers she seeks.

As C delves deeper into the mystery surrounding the garden gnome and the computer code, she discovers that it is intertwined with an eco-hacktivist cabal that threatens to bring modern life to a catastrophic end. The visitors, as they are called, possess advanced technology and a deep understanding of the intricate systems that govern our world. They are determined to expose the flaws and vulnerabilities of our society, using their knowledge to disrupt and dismantle the status quo.

Through a mordantly funny lens, The Visitors takes us on a tour through a world where not only civic infrastructure but our darkest desires, and even our novels, are vulnerable to malware. Mythical creatures converse in the language of Don DeLillo, and love is reduced to a mere blip in our vast metadata. The novel peers into the past and asks us to consider how we got to this point, while also charting the last days of a broken status quo as the path is cleared for something new.

In conclusion, The Visitors is a thought-provoking and entertaining novel that explores the intersection of personal struggles, societal challenges, and technological advancements. With its witty dialogue, memorable characters, and provocative themes, it offers a unique perspective on the world we live in and the possibilities for change that lie ahead. As C navigates the complexities of her life and uncovers the secrets of the eco-hacktivist cabal, she realizes that the answers to her questions may lie in the very systems she has been trying to undermine. The Visitors is a testament to the power of resilience, creativity, and the human spirit to overcome even the most daunting obstacles.

Weight: 410g
Dimension: 205 x 137 x 30 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781913505288