{"product_id":"the-obsessed","title":"The Obsessed","description":"\n\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eOne of \u003ci\u003eBest Life'\u003c\/i\u003es Best New Beach Reads Everyone Will Be Talking About This Summer\u003cbr\u003eOne of \u003ci\u003eDebutiful\u003c\/i\u003e's Most Anticipated Debuts of 2026\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"You will obsess over \n\u003ci\u003eThe Obsessed\u003c\/i\u003e. If you've found a favorite book from one of \n\u003ci\u003eDebutiful\u003c\/i\u003e'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.\" -- \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eDebutiful\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\" \n\u003ci\u003eThe Obsessed \u003c\/i\u003ebrings us another erudite, ever-questioning narrator with boy problems of her own design. \n\u003ci\u003eIdiot\u003c\/i\u003e-fans will definitely want to throw this on the preorder pile.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLit Hub\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"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.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"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 \n\u003ci\u003eThe Idiot\u003c\/i\u003e will find much of interest.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"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 \n\u003ci\u003eThe Obsessed\u003c\/i\u003e. Any reader who has ever felt doubt, anxiety, or a tinge of obsession will relate to Astrid, which is to say, all of us.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003eJessica Francis Kane, bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eFonseca \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eRules for Visiting\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Lizzie Buehler has gifted us such a fun, clever, witty novel. Fans of . . . Sally Rooney will eat this up. I certainly did.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003eAnnie Hartnett, bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Road to Tender Hearts\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Between the sexually repressed graduate students struggling to emote and the immortalization of some truly excellent memes, \n\u003ci\u003eThe Obsessed\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003eRuth Madievsky, bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eAll-Night Pharmacy\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Astrid, the protagonist of Lizzie Buehler's witty debut \n\u003ci\u003eThe Obsessed\u003c\/i\u003e, is afraid too many books are being written, but I'm so glad Buehler wrote this one. Equal parts barbed and charming, \n\u003ci\u003eThe Obsessed \u003c\/i\u003eis a compelling portrait of a too-smart young woman trying to get out of her head, off her phone, and (terrifying!) into real life.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003eLily Meyer, translator, and the author of \u003ci\u003eThe End of Romance\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"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.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003eCaitlin Barasch, author of \u003ci\u003eA Novel Obsession \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"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. \n\u003ci\u003eThe Obsessed \u003c\/i\u003eis enjoyable, relatable, and filled with things to obsess over long after the novel is over.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003eJennifer Croft, translator, and the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Extinction of Irena Rey\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBiographical Note\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eLizzie Buehler\u003c\/b\u003e is the translator of \n\u003ci\u003eThe Disaster Tourist\u003c\/i\u003e (winner of the CWA Dagger for crime fiction in translation), \n\u003ci\u003eArt on Fire\u003c\/i\u003e, and \n\u003ci\u003eTable for One\u003c\/i\u003e by Yun Ko-eun, and \n\u003ci\u003eKorean Teachers\u003c\/i\u003e by Seo Su-jin. She holds an MFA in literary translation from the University of Iowa and has studied comparative literature at Harvard and Princeton. \n\u003ci\u003eThe Obsessed\u003c\/i\u003e is her debut novel.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\"An enthralling, irreverent read.\" --Ruth Madievsky, bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eAll-Night Pharmacy\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"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 \u003ci\u003eFonseca \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eRules for Visiting\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A fun, clever, witty novel.\" --Annie Hartnett, bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Road to Tender Hearts\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA 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.\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAstrid 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. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut 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. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA bighearted portrait of the anxieties of desire, \n\u003ci\u003eThe Obsessed\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e 05\/11\/2026 (EAN 9798217044184, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eBooklist\u003c\/span\u003e 06\/01\/2026 (EAN 9798217044184, Hardcover) - *Starred Review\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n","brand":"G.P. Putnam's Sons","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51496190869782,"sku":"9798217044184","price":36.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0857\/9910\/8886\/files\/9798217044184.jpg?v=1783057162","url":"https:\/\/lusper.myshopify.com\/products\/the-obsessed","provider":"Lusperbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}