The Atmospherians: A Novel

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Darkly funny and glitteringly satirical, The Atmospherians unforgettably takes aim at wokeness, wellness, and toxic masculinity. Esquire

This edgy, addictive (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) satire about two best friends who form The Atmospherea cult designed to reform problematic menis a book to be devoured (Vanity Fair).

Sasha Marcus was once the epitome of contemporary success: an internet sensation, social media darling, and a creator of a high-profile wellness brand for women. But a confrontation with an abusive troll has taken a horrifying turn, and now shes at rock bottom: canceled and doxxed online, isolated in her apartment while mens rights protestors rage outside.

Sasha confides in her oldest childhood friend, Dysona failed actor with a history of body issueswho hatches a plan for her to restore her reputation by becoming the face of his new business venture, The Atmosphere: a rehabilitation community for men. Based in an abandoned summer camp and billed as a workshop for job training, it is actually a rigorous program designed to rid men of their toxic masculinity. Sasha has little choice but to accept. But what horrors await her as the resident female leader of a crew of washed up, desperate men And what exactly does Dyson want

Explosive, dazzling, and wickedly funny, The Atmospherians is a book written with this exact cultural moment in mind (Oprah Daily).

Reviews

The Atmospherians is a marvel, a wonder, a gift. McElroy's characters glide across the page, in and out of love, and we see ourselves in their conflicts, their crucibles, and what they hold dear. Simply put, McElroy dazzles. This novel is dazzling. BRYAN WASHINGTON, author of Lot and Memorial
The novel balances perfectly on the razors edge between reality and absurdism, the place where excellent satire dwells, while spinning a complex investigation of huge topics: guilt, culpability, loyalty, sexism, fatphobia, abuse of power. It is a book about cravingfame, food, praise, each other, ourselvesand it is a book to be devoured.Vanity Fair
Gutsy, hilarious, and fully saturated with the absurd spirit of our times,The Atmospheriansis a novel about the tangle of capitalism, narcissism, and masculinity that have defined our cultural moment. McElroy is a master excavator of the murky innards that drive us,a satirist with an eye for the tender parts that make us tick. ALEXANDRA KLEEMAN, author ofYou Too Can Have a Body Like Mine
"The Atmospheriansis what happens whenan amazing idea meets stunning awareness meets brilliant writing.A bookdazzling with power."NANA KWAME ADJEI-BRENYAH,New York Timesbestselling author ofFriday Black
"The Atmospherians is a thrilling satire about wrecked reputations and flawed stabs at redemption, but it's also earnest examination of the fragile place between community and mob; most disturbingly, Alex McElroy draws an accurate portrait of this agitated era."CATHERINE LACEY, author ofPew,The Answers, andNobody is Ever Missing
"Rarefied, unstable, charged. This is the constant atmosphere in Alex McElroys brilliantly bizarre novel. A sophisticated farce about alienation,The Atmospherianstakes our absurd age seriouslywhich is to say it laughs, darkly, in its face." HERNAN DIAZ, author ofIn the Distance, a Finalist for Pulitzer Prize
"This is exceptional writing: McElroy's world-building is artful, funny and bracingly resonant....The Atmospherians includes all of us in its vast, cutting scope."The New York Times Book Review
Abold, mischievous, and brilliant debut novel.AV Club
"It's a virtuosic send-up of a society run ragged by disingenuous influencers, toxic masculinity, commodified self-care, weaponized positivity, and performative "wokeness and the alienation that comes from desperately trying to fit in."BuzzFeed
"Darkly funny and glitteringly satirical,The Atmospheriansunforgettably takes aim at wokeness, wellness, and toxic masculinity." Esquire
Alex McElroys debut novel iswickedly funny, graceful in prose, and brilliant in execution. With its exploration and critique of contemporary culture in general, and masculinity gender performance specifically,The AtmospheriansisaFight Clubfor the Millennial Generation. I feel particularly bullish on this novel, and this writer. MAT JOHNSON, author ofPymandLoving Day
What wicked, utterly sublime, laugh-out-loud satire. With deft, shimmering prose, boundless in its capacity for capturing our most visceral desires, McElroy deciphers our age of wokeness and all its seductive kinks. This dazzling novel is the world, and we are living inside it. - NOVUYO ROSA TSHUMA, author of House of Stone
"Alex McElroy has written the novel of our age.The Atmospherianscombines Mary Gaitskill's unflinching examination of beauty, cruelty, and power with a toxic masculinity rehabilitation center so outlandishly funny that it would fit perfectly in an episode ofNathan for You.This is a voice to get very excited about: darkly perceptive, stylistically bold, and terrifically, inimitably entertaining."MARY SOUTH, author ofYou Will Never Be Forgotten
"An astonishing vision. Every page contains a new wonder, another breathtaking surprise. This novel satisfies a hunger you might have never even realized was there."MATTHEW BAKER, author of Why Visit Americaand Hybrid Creatures
McElroys impressive debut novel lands a well-crafted jab at toxic masculinity and attempts to control it rich prose and haunting images, using a finely honed satirical lens. This notable debut makes hay with the miasma of contemporary culture.Publishers Weekly
"McElroys debut is as uncomfortable as it is thought-provoking. It takes on toxic masculinity, eating disorders, influencer culture, and the violence inherent in power dynamics without dragging or overreaching.Edgy, addictive, gruesome, and smart."Kirkus (Starred review)
"McElroy offers trenchant commentary on our societys fraught gender dynamics."The Washington Post
"....sly and uncanny and darkly funny...." Poets and Writers
"McElroy exposes the cognitive dissonance required to live in a world in which everything exists alongside everything else all at once, the world of the internet. It is a brilliant debut, marking McElroy as a writer to watch.The Seattle Times
"Dealing with cancel culture and mob mentalities,The Atmospheriansis a book written with this exact cultural moment in mind."Oprah Daily
"A book about cravingfame, food, praise, each other, ourselvesa book to be devoured. Vanity Fair
"Darkly funny and glitteringly satirical,The Atmospheriansunforgettably takes aim at wokeness, wellness, and toxic masculinity." Esquire

Author Bio

Alex McElroy (they/them) is a nonbinary author based in Brooklyn. Their writing has appeared inThe Cut,Esquire,The Guardian,GQ,Harpers Bazaar,The Atlantic, and elsewhere. Alex has been named one of the Strands 30 Writers to Watch andhas received fellowships from the Bread Loaf Writers Conference, the Tin House Summer Workshop, the Sewanee Writers Conference, and the National Parks Service.