The Definitions - by Matt Greene (Paperback)

About the Book

"An elegant and haunting dystopian novel about a group of individuals gathered to relearn how to navigate the world after a mysterious illness strips them of their memories Nestled in an idyllic locale beside the sea, The Center is a place of rehabilitation and rebuilding. Students arrive nameless, their memories and sense of identity wiped by a strange illness. Each day, they attend classes that will help them relearn the right ways to speak and live; they practice the roles they'll assume once they've graduated and returned to society. In their free time, they negotiate a burgeoning social hierarchy and watch old DVDs together; stories of characters whose names they adopt: Maria, Chandler, Chino, Gunther . . . But as shards of memories-of pets, lovers, errands, and beloved music-begin to threaten the strict curriculum of The Center, some students start to question the definitions given to them, and explore the ways in which they might define themselves. A stunning, intimately told story about what makes us who we are, The Definitions examines the limits of language, the power of human connection, and the ways the human spirit can flourish even under the most oppressive conditions"-- Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

An elegant, haunting dystopian novel about individuals relearning how to navigate the world after a mysterious illness strips them of their memories

Nestled in an idyllic locale beside the sea, the Center is a place of rehabilitation for those afflicted by a strange illness that has swept through the population, erasing their memories and any sense of identity. Students arrive at the Center nameless--none of them know who they are or how they got there.

Each day, they attend classes that will help them relearn the right ways to speak and live; they practice the roles they hope to assume once they graduate and return to society. In their free time, they negotiate a burgeoning social hierarchy and watch old videos together, stories of characters whose names they adopt: Maria, Chino, Ross, Chandler, Gunther . . . But as flashes of memories--of pets, lovers, errands, and beloved music--emerge, some students start to question the Center's strict instruction and begin to explore different ways in which they might define themselves.

A stunning, intimately told story about what makes us who we are, The Definitions examines the limits of language, the power of connection, and how the human spirit can flourish even under the most oppressive conditions.

Review Quotes

"A thrilling novel that asks profound questions about love and language, selfhood and memory. One of those books that you want to read again as soon as you've finished, it consoles even as it frightens, appalls even as it reveals how much we have to treasure. It has earned its place on my shelf of favorite science fiction, alongside Ishiguro, Ravn, Butler, and Chiang."
--Louisa Hall, author of Speak and Reproduction

"An unnerving story of our ominous present era huddled in a cloak of post-apocalyptic speculation, Matt Greene's The Definitions digs--and digs hard--into the nature of language, of reality, of what we can and must not believe about what we're told about ourselves and our world. It's harrowingly well constructed, revealing its secrets in a series of icy, controlled detonations, and thoroughly earns the sense of heartbreak I'm sure you'll feel at its finale. As I was reading I thought I detected glimpses of Ray Bradbury, of H. G. Wells and George Orwell, even of Lewis Carroll, but The Definitions is very much its own creature, and I am in awe of Greene's taut, shiversome eloquence."
--Benjamin Dreyer, New York Times bestselling author of Dreyer's English

"A novel pulsing with intelligence and razor-edged with wit. Matt Greene's The Definitions probes the vulnerabilities of human memory, exposing the extent to which identity is forged by language and the landfill of pop culture. No one should forget to read this book before the end times come. "
--Benjamin Wood, author of Seascraper, longlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize

"Deceptively gentle and ultimately devastating, The Definitions holds a delicate line between giving us enough to be utterly compelling and quietly paring back enough to keep us guessing. The Center, the narrator and the drifting language will haunt my thoughts, and my words, for some time."
--Han Smith, author of Portraits at the Palace of Creativity and Wrecking, shortlisted for the 2024 Goldsmiths Prize

"A slippery, sinister treat of a novel, with a tender heart. Like the innocent inmates of this enigmatic facility, Matt Greene plays constant, original games with words, meanings and memory; unlike them, he is in complete control. An unnerving, compelling delight, somewhere between Severance and Never Let Me Go."
--Will Wiles, author of Care of Wooden Floors and Plume

"A tense, unsettling, superbly-woven fable. A stirring ode to how bravely we fight to find ourselves after immense loss."
--Musa Okwonga, author of In The End It Was All About Love

"A terrifying glimpse at what happens when language, self and memory are taken from us. Shimmers with intelligence, terror and deep humanity."
―Ben Pester, author of The Expansion Project and Am I in the Right Place?

About the Author

Matt Greene is a novelist and essayist. His first novel, Ostrich, published in 2013, won a Betty Trask Award and was a Daily Telegraph book of the year. His memoir, Jew(ish) was published in 2020. He lives in London with his partner and two sons.