The Familiar, Volume 1: One Rainy Day in May

Mark Z. Danielewski

May 2015 · The Familiar Book 1 · Sold by Knopf

About this ebook

From the author of the international best seller House of Leaves and National Book Award–nominated Only Revolutions comes a monumental new novel as dazzling as it is riveting. The Familiar (Volume 1) ranges from Mexico to Southeast Asia, from Venice, Italy, to Venice, California, with nine lives hanging in the balance, each called upon to make a terrifying choice. They include a therapist-in-training grappling with daughters as demanding as her patients; an ambitious East L.A. gang member contracted for violence; two scientists in Marfa, Texas, on the run from an organization powerful beyond imagining; plus a recovering addict in Singapore summoned at midnight by a desperate billionaire; and a programmer near Silicon Beach whose game engine might unleash consequences far exceeding the entertainment he intends. At the very heart, though, is a twelve-year-old girl named Xanther who one rainy day in May sets out with her father to get a dog, only to end up trying to save a creature as fragile as it is dangerous . . . which will change not only her life and the lives of those she has yet to encounter, but this world, too—or at least the world we think we know and the future we take for granted.

(With full-color illustrations throughout.) 

Like the print edition, this eBook contains a complex image-based layout. It is most readable on e-reading devices with larger screen sizes. 

Ratings and reviews

I love this story about family, friendship, community, empathy, and compassion. The first one starts slow and can be challenging to read in parts but it's well worth it. The rest of the series has amazing payoff. The more you read the individual points of view, and you get used to their textual quirks, the easier it becomes, like learning a second language.

You have to invest a fraction of yourself to unlock the potential of this book. Being handed a piano when you were expecting an mp3 of Ray Charles will leave you in the dark. If you do a little light lifting, realize this volume is the doormat to a large house on a larges estate, then you'll be rewarded. People who down vote this are likely the same people who gave up on Radiohead when Amnesiac came out...

Outstanding.

About the author

MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI was born in New York City and now lives in Los Angeles.