Misrecognition

A smart, savage and hilarious debut exploring love, sexuality, purpose – and the delicious absurdities of online life.

‘For fans of Patricia Lockwood and Alexandra Tanner … A tale of internet longing and obsession that leads to self-discovery’ OurCulture

‘Fresh and bold. I was mesmerised’ Julia May Jonas

‘A brave and blazingly smart debut’ Garth Greenwell

Misrecognition by Madison Newbound introduces us to Elsa, who is struggling to find her footing. The relationship that has consumed her twenties has ended, and now she finds herself working as a hostess in the small town where she grew up. Her one outlet is the internet, and she soon spends countless hours of screentime in her childhood bedroom, exploring rabbit holes that promise a brighter, tidier, better future.

There is one particular focus of her obsession: an up-and-coming actor who starts to occupy her every thought. When the actor arrives in Elsa’s hometown, her virtual and actual realities begin to collide. As Elsa tries to infiltrate the young man’s circle, she discovers a new and genuine connection forming with one of his queer friends, forcing her to rethink her own identity and desires.

‘Casts a spell in coolly detached prose, plunging us into the membrane between the social and the parasocial. I was blown away’ Antoine Wilson

‘Enthralling, astonishingly assured … At once familiar and estranging’ Sarah Blakley-Cartwright