Hailed as a modern day 'Catcher in the Rye', Matthew Selwyn's acclaimed debut novel '****, or, The Anatomy of Melancholy' is a startling look into the addled mind of a young man hooked on the culture of the internet and desperately reaching out for human connection. Encompassing some of the biggest themes of the digital age - isolation, mental illness, the nature of reality, relationships, and the root of both love and hate - Matthew Selwyn's stunning debut novel has been described by 'The Lancet: Psychiatry' as "... a well-crafted book, a bleak yet thought-provoking portrayal of a character whose very superficiality leaves us eager to find out what horrors lie beneath the surface..."
Written with verve and originality, '****, or, The Anatomy of Melancholy' marks the emergence of a major new talent in literary fiction, a voice both "tough and empathetic". Selwyn's writing is reminiscent of the "savageness of 'American Psycho' and the nihilism of some of the twentieth century's greatest existentialists" but mixed with a "lightness of touch that rivals Douglas Coupland's comic approach to 'digital fiction'." Brutal and honest, amused and appalled, this is "the kind of novel that can inspire laughter and anxiety with a single sentence... horrifying, hilarious and evocative" (Emily May, #1 Goodreads UK reviewer). A must read for the twenty-first century reader.