A Brutal Design

“An uncompromising portrait of the human psyche.”

—Soon Wiley, author of When We Fell Apart


After the fascist takeover of his homeland and the murder of his parents, Jewish architecture student Samuel Zelnik thinks that he and his friends are bound for the gulag—or worse. Instead, he receives an unexpected offer of freedom working in the experimental utopian city of Duma.

Awed by the city’s dramatic architecture but confused by the other residents’ strange behavior, Zelnik searches for his long-lost uncle who emigrated to Duma before him. His wanderings reunite him with Miriana Grannoff, an exiled avant-garde artist who was once his teacher. Her memorial installations hidden around the city equally enchant and repel him. And gradually, they begin to reveal a truth: Duma is not the workers’ paradise it pretends to be.

“An absurdist, falling-down-the-rabbit-hole adventure packed with dark mysteries, startling images, and surreal encounters.”

—Helen Phillips, author of The Need

“A voice steeped in history, literature, art, and philosophy, and maturity beyond its years.”

—Sara Lippmann, author of Lech