The Hitch - by Sara Levine (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A New York Times Book Review Editors' Pick * A People Best Book of the Month * An NPR Book of the Day

"Winningly zany . . . [Levine's] commitment to boinging around the loopy little world she's built is total. Only a killjoy would refuse to join her."--New York Times Book Review

From the author of the cult classic Treasure Island!!!, a delightfully unhinged comedy following a woman as she attempts to exorcise the spirit of a dead corgi from her nephew and renegotiate the borders of her previously rational world

Sara Levine debuted with her outrageously original and unforgettable novel Treasure Island!!!, which became a cult classic and bookseller favorite. With the ferocious absurdity of Rachel Yoder's Nightbitch and the inventive comedy of Kevin Wilson's Nothing to See Here, Levine's highly anticipated second novel, The Hitch, follows a woman as she attempts to exorcise the spirit of a dead corgi from her nephew and renegotiate the borders of her previously rational world.

As an antiracist, secular Jewish feminist eco-warrior, Rose Cutler is convinced she knows the right way to do everything, including parent her six-year-old nephew Nathan. When his parents reluctantly agree to let Rose babysit him while they go on a vacation designed to save their marriage, she is determined to follow their rules and not overstep. But on her first day with Nathan, Rose's beloved Newfoundland attacks and kills a corgi at the park and Nathan starts acting strangely: barking, overeating, talking to himself. Rose believes this is how Nathan's child imagination is coping with the dog's death, but Nathan insists the dog isn't dead; her soul leaped into his body, and now she's living inside him. With only a week left before his parents return, Rose races to ban-ish the corgi from her nephew.

An off-kilter comedy about loneliness, bad boundaries, and the exacting nature of unconditional love, The Hitch is a big-hearted novel that exposes the fault lines of our pieties and asks how far a person should stretch to fit into their own family.

Review Quotes

Praise for The Hitch:

A New York Times Book Review Editors' Pick
A People Best Book of the Month
An NPR Book of the Day
An Indie Next Pick
Finalist for the GLIBA and Heartland Book Award for Fiction
Finalist for the Chicago Review of Books Award for Fiction

"Bizarre and darkly funny."--People, "Best Books of January 2026"

"A winningly zany portrait of a know-it-all whose beliefs are tested by a supernatural intrusion at a family visit . . . Warm and goofy . . . with the zany, unbothered tone of Mary Rodgers's Freaky Friday . . . Levine is an unusual talent. Her commitment to boinging around the loopy little world she's built is total. Only a killjoy would refuse to join her."--Alexandra Jacobs, New York Times

"Her writing voice, sardonic, breezy, chimes with Joy Williams and Donald Barthelme, but it's hard not to hear Curb Your Enthusiasm or even The Office--that nexus where unraveling people lacking self-awareness stumble across empathy . . . Levine's sweet spot is what literary scholars have long called 'unreliable narration.'"--Christopher Borelli, Chicago Tribune

"A moving meditation on loneliness, longing and familial short leashes."--Joanne Kaufman, Wall Street Journal

"[A] careful character study set to absurd proportions, delivering dark, deadpan humor that always lands. Sara Levine is utterly brave in her commitment to these fascinating and flawed characters. I absolutely adored reading this novel."--Michael Welch, Chicago Review of Books

"An incredible writer. [Levine] embraces oddity, and is relentlessly committed to telling her stories exactly how she wants to tell them. Every word of every sentence is a pleasure to behold."--Roxane Gay, The Audacity

"[A] boisterously comic novel that is also a moving study of loneliness and learning boundaries . . . The Hitch could have been resolved in a dozen different ways, but Levine finds a path that is both believable and emotionally satisfying, rather than overly neat or feel-good . . . This novel isn't a simple, fun ride but an unpredictable and rewarding journey that will have readers thinking about their own relationships, assumptions and limitations."--Lauren Bufferd, BookPage (starred review)

"The Hitch delivers flawed but deeply relatable characters who offer lessons on love, loneliness, frayed relationships and the bonds of family. A sweet, offbeat comedy that turns out to be the perfect cure for winter blues."--Suzanne Perez, KMUV Radio

"Unconventional, absurd, hilarious, engaging, and highly readable . . . Levine is keenly perceptive and consistently funny . . . There's no question [Rose's] life has been filled with sadness, but that sadness never stops this book from being fun, and it never stops Rose from showering her rambunctious nephew and boisterous dog with tons of attention and love."--Sharon Chisvin, Winnipeg Free Press

"Levine's protagonists are as funny as they are broken, and each one tells a bonkers story . . . Rose is reminiscent of a classic sitcom character whom viewers can't help but love, despise, and love to despise. She evokes the cringing guffaws prompted by the ensembles of Seinfield and The Office. Such characters reflect our horrifying shadow selves, rendered ridiculous on the page or small screen even as we secretly recognize that we have also felt those estranging tendencies before we got therapy, sobered up, or read the Brene Brown book--before we looked hard in the mirror and accepted our reflection."--Edith-Nicole Cameron, Necessary Fiction

"A fun palate cleanser . . . Levine, who gave us the equally zany Treasure Island!!!, provides a hilarious antidote to the winter blues."--Melanie Fleishman, Center for Fiction

"A much deeper meaning behind just the right amount of whimsy . . . Despite the story being as hilarious as it is, there is enough sadness to ground the narrative, bringing this whimsical creation back to earth . . . A nearly perfect concoction, made up of a realistic filling inside a supernatural coating, a perfect addition to the bookshelf chocolate box!"--Riya Kulkarni, Case Western Reserve Observer

"The novel is simultaneously absurd and deeply moving, wise and absolutely, side-splittingly uproarious . . . A novel that seems destined to become a cult classic."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Bizarre and mordantly funny . . . A vibrant portrait of childhood wonder and adult anxiety."--Publishers Weekly

"[A] hilarious and poignant "what could go wrong?" comedy of outrageous errors and old wounds . . . In her second wildly inventive and slyly insightful novel . . . Levine uses finely honed and keenly metaphysical comedy to delve into complicated questions about family, friendship, death, grief, and healing."--Donna Seaman, Booklist

"Levine's writing is filled with snarky interactions and commentary that may provoke readers to reexamine their own beliefs and choices along with Rose . . . Recommended for all collections where funny and tongue-in-cheek fiction checks out."--Charlyn Lyons, Library Journal

"I was slobberingly, tail-waggingly delighted to read The Hitch--which is one of the most wildly comedic and unhinged novels I have ever encountered, while at the same time also being deeply relatable and strangely emotionally accurate. Not only was I laughing on almost every page, I was reading parts of it aloud to anybody around me who would listen. Give this book a trophy. It's perfect."--Elizabeth Gilbert, New York Times bestselling author of All the Way to the River

"A hilarious, madcap novel about our human obsession with getting life "right," and how the best laid plans can go astray, especially when the dark haunted soul of a corgi gets involved. This is the book I'll recommend to people as a test of their sense of humor: if they laugh at the corgi, the yogurt crisis, the hero who cannot recognize the obvious even when it's chewing on her pant leg, then I'll know we're destined to be friends."--Nathan Hill, New York Times bestselling author of Wellness

"I'm a huge fan of Sara Levine, her improbable and wild imagination, her exceptional comedic talent, and most importantly, her ability to lean into the strange complexities of human nature to create a story that will upend you entirely. In The Hitch, Rose Cutler holds onto everything in her life with a death grip of certainty, but when her nephew Nathan believes the spirit of a dead corgi now inhabits his body, the novel opens up, in beautiful and bizarre ways, to the pleasure--and terrors--of being out of control."--Kevin Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of Nothing to See Here

"The Hitch is laugh-out-loud funny and if you're anything like me (sorry!), it'll leave you muttering in disbelief and to the book and Rose Cutler. Now the hitch: while laughing and cringing, you are sucked into a morally complex novel that dares to be kind while asking if kindness is always enough. Sara is a blissfully mad genius."--Paul Tremblay, New York Times bestselling author of Horror Movie and A Head Full of Ghosts

"The bonkers magic of this laugh-out-loud funny novel about a breathtakingly self-absorbed yogurt CEO's metaphysical babysitting adventure took possession of me like a corgi's wisecracking ghost."--Ada Calhoun, New York Times bestselling author of Crush and Also a Poet

"Zany but still moving, thought-provoking as well as laugh-out-loud funny, The Hitch is something all too rare these days--a true comic novel. It's a welcome return from the brilliant Sara Levine."--Rumaan Alam, author of National Book Award finalist Leave the World Behind

"Better than xanax. Perfectionists in recovery, this was written for you. Bonkers and absolutely inspired, Levine is one of the funniest writers working today."--Molly McGhee, author of Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind

"Sara Levine's long-awaited follow-up to cult classic Treasure Island!!! does not disappoint: we find in The Hitch a plot as dark and concise as those of Hilary Mantel's early novels, but propelled by Levine's signature prose, sharp and hilarious. In this pitch-perfect comedy of manners, Rose, equal parts Thomas Bernhard, Elaine Benes, and health guru, might be too well-informed to make an informed decision, but seeing her try is a true delight. A relentlessly funny novel about loneliness."--Camille Bordas, author of The Material

"No hugging, no yogurt. The Hitch is a riot. Levine in top form."--Adam Levin, author of The Instructions and Bubblegum

"The Hitch filled me with such joy and mirth that for a while I forgot everything happening in the world. Rose's delightful flaws are a unique match for her nephew's ebullience, and the ensuing mayhem of their week together left me in awe of Levine's vision and virtuosity."--Elizabeth McKenzie, author of The Dog of the North and The Portable Veblen

"Beyond metaphor and way beyond fable, Sara Levine's timeless, hilarious, and razor-sharp novel The Hitch is a brilliant portrait of an ever-modern woman, Rose Cutler, who both embraces and defies her own rigid virtues, loneliness, and enthusiasm for a new kind of American life, one that might include indestructible truths. But it's hard to get at any truths at all when a pesky corgi soul is sprinting through your nephew's body and you're on parental duty for a week. The Hitch is a radical and comic triumph."--Michael Zapata, author of The Lost Book of Adana Moreau

"Clever, heartfelt . . . read it [for] the striking way the author uses words and the way their quirky clarity gives way to a quiet, meaningful and moving conclusion." --Evanston Roundtable

About the Author

Sara Levine is the author of the novel Treasure Island!!! and the short story collection Short Dark Oracles. Her essays, stories, and aphorisms have appeared in various magazines including The Iowa Review, Nerve, Conjunctions, Necessary Fiction, Sonora Review, and others. She holds a PhD in English from Brown University and teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She lives in Chicago, IL.