The Obsessed - by Lizzie Buehler (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A wildly endearing coming-of-age story and "offbeat tale of obsession" (Caitlin Barasch), following one young woman who reenacts the love plot of her favorite novel only to find herself flailing when she enters a relationship with a fellow literary obsessive.

Astrid is obsessed with Russian American novelist Sofiya Sova, whose life trajectory serendipitously parallels Astrid's own and whose writing seems to encompass every anxious thought Astrid has ever had. Desperate to find the purpose she's always craved, Astrid begins her PhD program hoping to fully embody the ethos of Sofiya Sova's novel.

But when Astrid's long-term boyfriend, Charlie, breaks up with her after moving to Japan, and a spontaneous Hinge date connects her with a fellow Sofiya Sova obsessive named Elijah, Astrid quickly finds herself transcribing the love plot of her favorite Sofiya Sova novel onto her own life . . . until one day, Elijah begins to pull away and Astrid is left flailing in a life scaffolded by obsession.

A bighearted portrait of the anxieties of desire, The Obsessed explores the trials of modern dating, the strange ennui of academia, and the question of how to create a world for yourself within and without the confines of your influences. What we're left with is a striking portrayal of how a willing reader can bring a text to life, and similarly the animating power of a good novel.

Review Quotes

"The nesting doll structure of The Obsessed allows for the metafictional aspects--the most interesting parts of the novel--to come to the fore. . . an endearing portrait of a young person moving past a series of parasocial relationships to start a process of building something new." --Chicago Review of Books

"A hilarious and exposing novel for anyone who has ever thought they belonged with someone who liked the same things as them . . . Dark academia meets modern dating? It's safe to say we're obsessed." --Marie Claire

"A thought-provoking meditation on romantic love, parasocial relationships, and academia." --The Millions

"[A] delectable novel about obsession and dating in the modern age." --Forbes.com

"You will obsess over The Obsessed. If you've found a favorite book from one of Debutiful's lists, this one checks all of the boxes. It's sad. It's weird. It's horny. You'll yearn while reading Buehler's brilliant writing." --Debutiful

"The Obsessed brings us another erudite, ever-questioning narrator with boy problems of her own design. Idiot-fans will definitely want to throw this on the preorder pile." --Lit Hub

"Buehler [captures] the nervous disillusionment that seems to always hover just an arm's length away [and] the fraught loneliness and unmooring of the self in the curated digital age." --Booklist (starred review)

"Buehler's debut brings academia, modern dating, and fandom together with sharp humor." --Tertulia

"A thought-provoking [meditation] on romantic love, one-sided relationships, and academia. . . Buehler offers intriguing insights into the many ways parasocial relationships take shape--not only with celebrities, but also strangers, fictional characters, and even idealized lovers. Fans of Elif Batuman's The Idiot will find much of interest." --Publishers Weekly

"Is a life obsessed with coincidence full of magic or emotional pitfalls? The answer is hard-won by Astrid, protagonist of Lizzie Buehler's delightful debut The Obsessed. Any reader who has ever felt doubt, anxiety, or a tinge of obsession will relate to Astrid, which is to say, all of us." --Jessica Francis Kane, bestselling author of Fonseca and Rules for Visiting

"Lizzie Buehler has gifted us such a fun, clever, witty novel. Fans of . . . Sally Rooney will eat this up. I certainly did." --Annie Hartnett, bestselling author of The Road to Tender Hearts

"Between the sexually repressed graduate students struggling to emote and the immortalization of some truly excellent memes, The Obsessed was an enthralling, irreverent read. I will be carrying our narrator's ache that her friends 'didn't know what it meant to love a book, a writer, or a stranger as much as I did' for a long time, maybe forever. What a relief and horror to learn there are more of us out there projecting our literary obsessions onto real people than you'd think." --Ruth Madievsky, bestselling author of All-Night Pharmacy

"Astrid, the protagonist of Lizzie Buehler's witty debut The Obsessed, is afraid too many books are being written, but I'm so glad Buehler wrote this one. Equal parts barbed and charming, The Obsessed is a compelling portrait of a too-smart young woman trying to get out of her head, off her phone, and (terrifying!) into real life." --Lily Meyer, translator, and the author of The End of Romance

"A sharp-witted and offbeat tale of obsession. I felt seen, mocked, and entirely transfixed. With an endearingly neurotic heroine who treats linguistic quirks and cosmic coincidences like holy relics, Buehler explores our frantic attempt to use shared sensibilities as a shortcut to the terrifying pinnacle of being known. It is a brilliant reminder that our obsessions are less about the fixation itself and more about our own secret, unmapped desires. . . . The perfect read for anyone who finds it easier to understand a book than a person." --Caitlin Barasch, author of A Novel Obsession

"In this impressive debut, Lizzie Buehler chronicles obsessions--literary, romantic, as well as those that don't fall into easy categories--with so much honesty and charm the reader almost forgets to be staggered by her intellect, her wide-ranging ideas and expertise on languages and literary cultures. The Obsessed is enjoyable, relatable, and filled with things to obsess over long after the novel is over." --Jennifer Croft, translator, and the author of The Extinction of Irena Rey

About the Author