A sharp, biting collection of linked stories, Rejection takes aim at modern love, lust, and loneliness with a tone that’s equal parts cynical and self-aware. The interconnected characters drift through cringe-inducing situations—from misguided activism to dating app disasters—each episode laced with bleak humor and uncomfortable truth.

While Tulathimutte’s wit and observational prowess are undeniable, the relentless irony and emotional detachment can start to wear thin. The characters are often more concepts than people, which makes for smart social commentary but limited emotional investment. Still, there are moments of brilliance here that jab at the heart of contemporary disconnection.

If you like your fiction razor-sharp, occasionally mean, and unafraid to prod the most awkward corners of modern life, Rejection delivers—but with a smirk more than a soul.

Wow, the voice in this! I was so uncomfortable for the first story - but that's in a good way. It just really brought the character's internal voice alive in a disturbing and realistic way. Way to go! Look forward to reading more.

This book knows exactly what it’s doing. Every detail, every turn, every moment is placed with precision, pulling you in deeper than you expected. When it’s over, you’ll wish you could read it for the first time again.

Fascinating and well-written. The discomfort I felt reading was proof that the author has a good feeling for character, voice. I definitely forwarded so many lines to people.

I hardly know how to review Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte. It’s a book about the worst people you know. It’s not easy to read, because the characters are incapable of redeeming themselves. I expected the last chapter to be completely different, so well done on keeping me guessing.

Thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow for the ebook. Amazing, pulled from the headlines of societies ills, book of seven interrelated stories. The language is so rich and inventive and the stories are so extreme, but always with threads that will lead back to your own life more than you might want.

Rejection was an excellent collection! I think the author is an incredible writer and he really got into the dark side of human nature. These stories are not for everyone, very graphic and uncomfortable, but so insightful and also funny at times! I would absolutely read more from him.

This book was unlike any other that I've read. Tony is a great writer. This book is like Black Mirror but with rejection, lol.

I am so thankful to William Morrow Books, Tony Tulathimutte, and Netgalley for granting me advanced access to this galley before publication day. I really enjoyed the dialogue and plot of this book and can’t wait to chat this one up with my friends!

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

I was really hoping to enjoy this book more than I actually did. I started off really liking the book and was encouraged by the rave reviews and it getting longlisted for the National Book Award. However, at some point the book became a chore to get through and I had to really struggle through the last half. I know lots of people loved this book, it was just not for me.

REJECTION is a set of linked stories about people dealing with rejection in various ways. At times, it’s difficult to stay with the characters because their level of self-hatred–and their combination of hyper-awareness and lack of self-awareness–makes it deeply uncomfortable to relate to their experiences. I’ve seen reviews describing this as “a difficult read” or “like drinking paint.” But, it’s worth the read. While the characters are often mired in unpleasantness, the authorial intelligence behind every story is illuminating and captivating. The social and psychological observation, often filtered through an unreliable narrator, is so deft and spot-on that I cringed and laugh out loud. If you appreciate highly intelligent stories that have something to say about feeling uncomfortable, alone, or unworthy in our atomized, social media saturated world, this is a book for you. Even if you’re secure and comfortable in your own skin, if you’ve ever felt discomfort, these stories reveal and peel back the stories we tell–and open us to a deeper understanding of our selves.

Crude, provocative and may illicit visceral reactions. Though satirical, each story is full of uncomfortable, intriguing, true human experiences that, depending on the readers mindset, will cause deeper thought about how we affect others and how others perceive the way we interact with them. I had such conflicting feelings, like I shouldn’t be reading these vulnerable, personal things, but I also felt addicted to reading more and couldn’t stop. Not sure what that says about me. I stumbled through some of the way this is written, but the stumbling actually felt warranted here. Did I always understand what was transpiring, no; but never was I so clueless that I didn’t get the gist. A challenging read, but in the best way.

This book had me in a chokehold for about the first 40%, then it went wildly off-course and became bonkers in a way that even I, who likes some weird shit, couldn't keep going with. I'm all for absurdism, which this became in places, but when I started feeling like, "WTF did I just read?!" and not in a good way, I had to DNF. I kinda feel like a bit of a prude for saying that, but it is what it is.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review! I have never felt such a strong feeling of dread and well, rejection while reading this. Each character in this novel is trying to fit in, but they are just going about it in such a wrong way. We all know (or used to) someone who was like one of the characters in the novel. I had to put this down a couple times because it sent me into such an existential spiral. There is nothing a human wants more than to fit in, and reading an entire short story collection about rejection and being rejected really gives you food for thought.

I asked the National Book Award judges to give us weird and original short stories on the longlist, and let me tell you — they really said YOU GOT IT, GIRL with this collection.

Rejection is deeply uncomfortable and cringey but also refreshing and funny and smart. You have to be willing to get dark and look at the worst our online society has to offer, but you are rewarded with guffaws and things that make you think. It’s just plain excellent satire (and I’m picky). I know the ending wasn’t for everyone, but I like when things get meta and so I was into it.

This isn’t a book I’ll be able to recommend to just anyone, but if you’re the kind of person who follows the National Book Award, I think it’s safe to say there’s a good chance you’ll like (“like”) this book as much as I did.

This was a hard, yet thought provoking read. It was unique and unsettling but I have the feeling that this book will work its way into my thoughts for years to come.

4,5

Wow, this is one of the smartest and most thought-provoking books I read all year, but also very, very bleak.

It is a novel-of-interconnected-short-stories in which the main characters are invariably loners, not fitting in, being rejected or themselves rejecting society. It is as much about rejection as it is about belonging though, and wanting to belong.

The opening story, The Feminist, is for me the strongest of the book, about a young 'narrow-shouldered' man's unsuccessful search for a relationship. He holds all the correct opinions and still women seem to prefer 'wrong' men over him. From here the stories become less and less relatable, making you feel less and less comfortable.

It is about labelling and political correctness and holding the right opinions and criticism on that opinion....and it actually all got quite tiresome towards the end as it also is a lot to do about very little. I longed for some substance... But then the final section is quite strong and surprising.

Posted my review on Goodreads, but an absolute must read for people who are addicted to crashout characters. So much fun

REJECTION by Tony Tulathimutte ~published September 17, 2024

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This satirical millennial takedown had me laughing out loud, and feeling so thankful that I’m already married.

Thanks so much @williammorrowbooks for the gifted advance reader copy.

This book. This BOOK. Woo doggie. I don’t think anyone can argue that it’s not one-of-a-kind!

Our format: interconnected short stories/character studies/psychological deep dives.

Our three big themes: dating, the internet, and rejection.

Our over-the-top characters:

-a white guy determined to be a woke feminist
-a depressed girl who can’t get over her crush
-a gay guy with a unique fetish
-a cash-strapped tech bro
-a person who rejects all identity-defining labels
-a final surprise meta narrator

You guys know that I read a lot. And when you do a lot of something, you start to notice patterns emerging, certain elements repeating, and sometimes things can start to feel tired, boring, etc. etc. Sometimes I feel like Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada, saying, “Florals? For Spring? Groundbreaking.” All of this is a long way of saying, I really appreciate it when something surprises me.

This won’t be for everyone. But if you like satire, if you can laugh at the absurd, if you’re tired of florals for Spring, then I’m pressing this into your hands and saying good luck, and Godspeed!

Rejection is a collection of short stories, interconnected in various ways, all exploring different forms of rejection and its effects on the characters in depth. From the first sentence Tulathimutte’s impeccable writing captivated me. It was fascinating to get to know characters through their spirals and it was clear so much thought went into establishing the specific scenarios. Rejection is just not a happy feeling and the increasingly uncomfortable feelings were conveyed in an incredibly evocative way. Towards the end things got incredibly meta and I just loved it so much. I don’t always click with short story collections but this one was done so well.