Next Stop - by Benjamin Resnick

Book Synopsis

A gripping and hauntingly prescient novel that explores the precariousness of Jewish American life after a black hole consumes Israel, setting off a chain of global anomalies plunging the world into a time of peril and miracles.

When a black hole suddenly consumes Israel and as mysterious anomalies spread across the globe, suddenly the world teeters on the brink of chaos. As antisemitic paranoia and violence escalate, Jewish citizens Ethan and Ella find themselves navigating a landscape fraught with danger and uncertainty.

Ella, a dedicated photojournalist, captures the shifting dynamics of their nameless American city, documenting the resilience and struggles of its Jewish residents. Some are drawn to the anomalies, disappearing into an abandoned subway system that seems to connect the world, while others form militias in the south. Yet, Ethan, Ella, and her young son Michael choose to remain, seeking solace in small joys amidst the hostility.

But then thousands of commercial planes vanish from the sky. Air travel stops. Borders close. Refugees pour into the capital. Eventually all Jews in the city are forced to relocate to the Pale, an area sandwiched between a park and a river. There, under the watchful eye of border guards, drones, and robotic dogs, they form a fragile new society.

Suspenseful, thought-provoking, and brilliantly conceived, Next Stop is a masterful blend of speculative fiction and family drama. Invoking biblical and historical themes in a world eerily similar to our own, it is a profound exploration of memory, identity, and survival.

Review Quotes

"A striking debut. . . Resnick skillfully uses the raw materials of postapocalyptic fiction and speaks lucidly to his Jewish characters' legacy of displacement. This timely tale will appeal to fans of speculative fantasies by Michael Chabon and Lavie Tidhar." --Publishers Weekly

"Resnick­'s prose is lucid and moves at a steady clip, nev­er dwelling any­where too long, avoid­ing the kind of teeth-gnash­ing mis­ery one might expect in a nov­el about per­se­cu­tion and eth­nic cleans­ing. For all its futur­is­tic ter­rors, this is real­ly a sto­ry about a fam­i­ly." --Jewish Book Council

"Uncanny, riveting, and strangely prescient, Next Stop is that rarest of narratives: a glimpse into an unthinkable past, present, and future all at once. Only a magician or a mystic could pull off such a thing." --Elisa Albert, author of Human Blues

"Next Stop is either prophetic--with its depiction of flailing morality, administrative cowardice, and fact-resistant discourse--or it is timeless, in that there is really no moment Benjamin Resnick couldn't have written the book. I'm reminded of both Bernard Malamud's God's Grace and Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven--it's that feeling of gently and easily reading something of crushing horror. What you will find here is what we all hope to find as readers: a good story about people up against the odds; people who are, ultimately, us." --Derek B. Miller, author of The Curse of Pietro Houdini

"With the whimsy of Salinger, the humor of Vonnegut, and more than a little of the prophetic weirdness of Kafka, Next Stop is the rarest of gems: a novel made up of equal parts human intimacy and broad foresight. Benjamin Resnick's debut is a clarion call, a profound cosmic joke, a canary in the global coalmine, and a disconcerting work of art." --Daniel Torday, author of The Last Flight of Poxl West

"It is a brave and troubling novel. Using elements from apocalyptic fiction like Station Eleven, Resnick was influenced by the great Jewish writers and has made use of the legacy of displacement in an extremely chilling read." --Melanie Fleishman, Center for Fiction

About the Author

Benjamin Resnick is the rabbi of the Pelham Jewish Center in New York. Ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, he lives in Pelham with his family. Next Stop is his first novel.