Five-Star Stranger: A Novel

(Hardback)

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An exciting and inventive (HuffPost) debut novel about a top-rated man on the Rental Stranger appa place where users can hire a pretend fianc, a wingman, or companion of any kindwho finds out who he is by being anyone but himself.

Would you hire someone to be the best man at your wedding Your stand-in brother The father to your child

In an age where online ratings are all-powerful, Five-Star Stranger follows the adventures of a top-rated man on the Rental Stranger app as he navigates New York City under the guise of characters he plays, always maintaining a professional distance from his clients.

But, when a nosy patron threatens to upend his long-term role as father to a young girl, Stranger begins to reckon with his attachment to his pretend daughter, her mother, and his own fraught past. Now, he must confront the boundaries he has drawn and explore the legacy of abandonment that shaped his life.

A sharp page-turner about our cultures commodification of everything (Debutiful), Five-Star Stranger is a strikingly vivid novel about isolation in a hyperconnected world, and what it means to love and be loved (Rachel Khong, author of Real Americans).

Reviews

"Tang excelsin humanizing her concept, grounding it in the reality of our modern loneliness epidemic. Itsconcise, impactful and the definition of a page-turner."KQED

"This sharply observed, slyly witty novel asks provocative questionsabout buried trauma, the gig economy, and the commodification of messy, unprofitable emotions."Oprah Daily

"A smartbookWith its cool premise, great descriptions and amazing attention to emotion and relationships,Five-Star Strangeris a strong debut, andTang is an author to keep an eye on.Associated Press

Heartfelt... raising questions on boundaries and commodification. People Magazine

MovingTang uses clean prose to bring complex characters to life. An emotional character study that doesnt rely on easy answers to complicated questions of identity, isolation, and familial love.Library Journal

"A sharp page-turner about our cultures commodification of everything... equally a breezy and thought-provoking read.Debutiful

Tangs debut shines, marrying hurt and heart in a character readers will root for and connect withInsmooth and affecting prose, Tang drawsa sharp portrait.Booklist,STARRED REVIEW

Provocative, self-assuredTang plays deftly with the conventions of romantic comedy... A smart look at people-pleasing taken to its illogical extreme. Kirkus, STARRED REVIEW

Kat Tangs inventive debut novel perfectly captures what it feels like to be lonely and searching for human connection in our modern life of parasocial relationships and contractual experiences.HuffPost

"Moving and offbeat... a memorable character study of a man hiding from himself.Publishers Weekly

"Five-StarStrangeris afive-starread. Kat Tang writes with care and clarity, perception and perfect comedic timing about what it means to love and be loved in our absurdist era of technology-induced isolation. I closed the book with an audible 'ahh' of satisfaction not only entertained, but enchanted, and moved." Rachel Khong, author ofGoodbye, Vitamin

"A hilarious and touching meditation on our atomized age. It's rare for a book so profound to give so much pleasure, page by page."Gary Shteyngart, author ofOur Country Friends

"A sly, sophisticated, and compulsively readabledebut about a person who is paid to be invisible, to be anyone to everyone, and yet inadvertently finds himself.Five-StarStrangeris a satirical comedy that grapples with the modern-day anxieties of the online persona and gig economy, masterfully blended with a poignant, heartwarming story about human connection." WeikeWang, author ofChemistry

"Five-StarStrangercarries its comic premise to surprisingand intriguing places. This is a wise, funny and affecting novel, and a memorabledebut." Sam Lipsyte, author ofThe Ask

"Five-StarStrangeris smart and slick, a lampoon of the late-stage capitalisttech-ification of modern society, at turns realist and speculative, intimate and engrossing. A novel about a for-hirestrangerwho cycles through a carousel of identities for paying clients with myriad intentions, it asks an important question: who are youtruly, deeply insideand if nobody cares to know it, does it even matter" Jinwoo Chong, author ofFlux

"In agrindingly deterministicworld where everyones faking it, Kat Tang has seen through the lies. Shes asking the hard, important questions. Is there anything left to bind us to each other Is it possible to transcend our useful but dehumanizing illusions Her answers are clear eyed and profoundly humane.Five-StarStrangeris the moral tale we need in these troubled times. Its perfectly calibrated to blow your mind."Joshua Furst, author ofRevolutionaries

"A fresh and moving portrait of loneliness in a society where a swipe of a finger can buy you a friend, a best man, and even a father. How long can we purchase companionship before our sense of self shatters Kat Tang adeptly and acutely explores how these perfect,five-startransactions can deepen the gaps in our lives, until we are unrecognizable to ourselves. A disassembling, propulsive, and absorbing read."CrystalHana Kim, author ofThe Stone Home

"Five-StarStrangeris a genuine original. As her protagonist shifts shapes and charms clients, you'll fall for each and every performance he gives. Father one moment, friend the next, andex-boyfriend after that, he plays each role with aplomb, and Tang draws us in on the hunt to discover what truly lies at the heart of the best unknown supporting actor in New York City. Fast-paced, beautiful, and dazzlingly funny, this novel is a brilliant achievement."KristopherJansma, author ofOur Narrow Hiding Places

Author Bio

Kat Tang is a graduate of Columbias MFA program where she taught as an Undergraduate Writing Fellow. Born in China, relocated to Japan, and raised in California, she is fascinated by how we make and fake human connection in a technologically evolving world. Her short stories and graphic narratives have appeared inElectric Literature,The Margins,Pigeon Pages, and elsewhere. She currently lives in St. Louis, Missouri.