Para

A nurse sealed inside a special capsule. A vlogger who fabricates fake conspiracy theories. A lost, wandering retired political apparatchik. Lives that become quietly, almost imperceptibly intertwined. András Réz’s sharp-voiced, humorous, satirical novel explores an ever more blurred past and a future creeping up on us. That’s how it was. That’s how it will be. Or maybe not. The author’s user guide to the novel: This is a satire. It is set in the very, very near future—so close it is almost already here. Satire is something you are allowed (and even encouraged) to laugh at. The novel is based on events that never happened—though it is not entirely free of resemblances. If readers detect emotional depth beneath the satire, that is no coincidence. According to the novel, we hopefully do not need a miracle to sense and understand the many threads that bind us together. Those who deeply believe in solitude may find this book unsettling.