The Unwanted A Novel
The Unwanted by Boris Fishman, published by HarperCollins Publishers in 2025, is a novel that delves into the harrowing experiences of a family fleeing civil war and a brutal dictatorship. This edition spans 336 pages and is presented in English. The narrative follows Susanna, George, and their eight-year-old daughter, Dina, as they navigate the dangers of their war-torn country, where their lives are threatened due to their minority status. As George loses his job and their safety is compromised, the family embarks on a desperate journey through refugee camps and across the sea.
Readers will find a compelling exploration of survival and sacrifice as each family member grapples with the chaos surrounding them. The Unwanted addresses themes of family life and resilience in the face of adversity, highlighting the emotional toll of displacement and the lengths to which individuals will go to protect their loved ones. Through Fishman’s meticulous worldbuilding, the story captures the tension and urgency of their plight, offering a poignant reflection on dignity and safety amidst turmoil.
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Fishman’s worldbuilding is impeccable…. He skillfully ramps up the tension…. Fans of dystopian classics like 1984 will find much to savor in Fishman’s spellbinding tale.”– Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“The Unwanted is a tightrope of a novel: tense, precise, stunning in its scope and power.”–Tea Obreht, New York Times bestselling author of The Morningside
“Urgently contemporary and prescient in equal measure, Fishman’s The Unwanted channels the spectrum of literature’s finest, emotionally visceral dystopian masterworks, from Dune to The Handmaid’s Tale, in a fable of survival, resistance and, ultimately, maternal love.”–Lea Carpenter, author of Ilium
Award-winning, New York Times Notable author of A Replacement Life–“a born storyteller with a tremendous gift for language” (San Francisco Chronicle)– delivers a fierce and staggering new page-turner full of cruelty, tenderness, and heroism, about a young girl and her parents fleeing civil war and the brutal dictatorship that has targeted their family.
Susanna, George, and their eight-year-old daughter, Dina, have been lucky, so far, in these four years since war broke out in their country. Even as their fellow “minority-sect” neighbors and classmates are murdered or imprisoned, George’s loyal work teaching “dominant-sect” literature has kept them fed and protected. But then the day comes: the university fires George–despite his years of collaboration, he is no longer safe. Left without money or allies, it is time for the family to run.
Embarking on a harrowing trip through refugee camps and across the sea, both George and Susanna are forced in their own ways to make sacrifices to keep Dina safe, while Dina fights to understand the chaotic world crashing down around her. But with each member of the family struggling to survive in circumstances beyond their control, lies and betrayals multiply until it seems impossible for any of them to reach across the abyss. The Unwanted is a stunning story of what the most powerless among us will do for dignity and safety.
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