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Rejection (short story collection)

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Rejection
AuthorTony Tulathimutte
GenreShort story collection, literary fiction
PublisherWilliam Morrow and Company
Publication date
September 17, 2024
Pages272
ISBN978-0063337879
Preceded byPrivate Citizens 

Rejection is a 2024 short story collection by Thai American writer Tony Tulathimutte, published by William Morrow and Company. Considered a novel-in-stories, the book includes pieces which Tulathimutte had published in magazines like N+1 and The Paris Review, including the highly controversial story "The Feminist".[1][2] It was longlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction.[3]

Content

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Tulathimutte, while at the Iowa Writers' Workshop in 2011, came up with the idea for a book titled Rejection while lying face-down in bed. Just a year before, in 2010, Tulathimutte had started writing stories that intertwined identity politics with comedy.[4]

Considered a novel-in-stories, the book comprises seven stories. The first three stories, "The Feminist", "Pics", and "Ahegao" compose a "trilogy" of "different types of rejection."[5][6] In the second half of the book, Tulathimutte explores more metafictional and experimental forms with "Main Character", "Our Dope Future"—which takes the form of a Reddit post—"Sixteen Metaphors", and "Re:Rejection", a story in the form of a letter which rejects the book being read.[1][4] Tulathimutte cited "The Depressed Person" by David Foster Wallace and The Easter Parade by Richard Yates as inspirations for the short story collection.[5]

"The Feminist", a story about a male feminist who becomes misogynistic after a series of rejections, was originally written from 2011 to 2013, with Tulathimutte knowing that it would be part of a "half fiction and half nonfiction" book in the future. The nonfiction half would eventually split off and become "The Rejection Plot" published in The Paris Review in 2024.[7] In 2019, "The Feminist" would be published by N+1 to much controversy, leading Tulathimutte to tweet "feminism is good, this character is not good."[4][8] In winter of 2023, "Ahegao" was published in The Paris Review.[9]

Critical Reception

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According to Book Marks, the book received a "rave" consensus, based on thirteen critic reviews: nine "rave", two "positive", and two "mixed".[10] In the March–April 2025 issue of Bookmarks, the book was rated four out of five. The magazine's critical summary reads: "A wonderful collection not for everyone".[11]

Publishers Weekly and The New York Times included the book on their respective Best Books of 2024 lists.[12][13] Esquire listed it as a Best Book of Fall 2024.[14] Time called the book one of the 100 must-reads of 2024.[15]

Critics lauded Tulathimutte's handling of topics like loneliness, sexuality, dating, positionality, and, per the book's namesake, rejection.[16] The book received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, which called the book "a first-rate exploration of yearning and solitude."[17] Dwight Garner, for The New York Times, lauded Tulathimutte's approach to identity politics and the cultural zeitgeist, stating: "Tulathimutte is a big talent and he is clearly just getting started."[18] Many critics, including Garner, found Tulathimutte's writing captivating in its ability to balance intelligence, vulgarity, and humor.[19][20][8][21] The New Yorker, in particular, wrote that it was "fun ... to read a book about a bunch of huge fucking losers."[22] Similarly, in a starred review, Kirkus Reviews praised the book as "an inventive and shameless story collection for the chronically online."[23]

Several publications have investigated the book's possible status as an incel novel, while others have used terms like terminally online and brain rot to describe the context of Tulathimutte's work.[24][25][2][8] However, The Cut found that online communities on 4chan and Reddit had mixed reactions to the book.[26]

References

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  1. ^ a b Tulathimutte, Tony (September 17, 2024). Rejection: Fiction. William Morrow. ISBN 978-0063337879.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  2. ^ a b Harvey, Giles (September 13, 2024). "An Acerbic Young Writer Takes Aim at the Identity Era". The New York Times.
  3. ^ Yorker, The New (2024-09-13). "The 2024 National Book Awards Longlist". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
  4. ^ a b c Lou, Jo (2024-09-19). "Find Creative Inspiration From Your Vices". Electric Literature. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
  5. ^ a b Davis, Sara (July 19, 2024). "A Book About Rejection: PW Talks with Tony Tulathimutte". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
  6. ^ Nevins, Jake (2024-09-17). ""Masturbatory Is a Compliment": Tony Tulathimutte on Corniness and Rejection". Interview Magazine. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
  7. ^ Tulathimutte, Tony (April 10, 2024). "The Rejection Plot". The Paris Review.
  8. ^ a b c "TONY TULATHIMUTTE with James Yu | The Brooklyn Rail". brooklynrail.org. 2024-09-30. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
  9. ^ Tulathimutte, Tony (2023). "Ahegao". The Paris Review. Vol. Winter 2023, no. 246.
  10. ^ "Rejection". Book Marks. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  11. ^ "Rejection". Bookmarks. March–April 2025. p. 32. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  12. ^ "Best Books 2024: Publishers Weekly Publishers Weekly". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  13. ^ "The Best Books of the Year (So Far)". The New York Times. May 24, 2024.
  14. ^ Westenfeld, Adrienne (2024-10-31). "The Best Books of Fall 2024". Esquire. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  15. ^ Gajanan, Mahita (2024-11-13). "'Rejection' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2024". TIME. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  16. ^ Zhang, Cat (2024-09-17). "A Novel for Dating Defeatists". The Cut. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
  17. ^ "Rejection: Fiction by Tony Tulathimutte". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
  18. ^ Garner, Dwight (September 16, 2024). "Even Losers Get Lucky Sometimes. Not in This Book". The New York Times.
  19. ^ Coleman, Madeline Leung (2024-09-10). "Is Rejection the First Great Incel Novel?". Vulture. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
  20. ^ Parham, Jason. "How to Give Neurotic Losers the Main Character Treatment". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
  21. ^ Nolan, Megan (2024-09-30). "A Conversation with Tony Tulathimutte—Author of What Might Be the Best New Book About Modern Life". Vogue. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
  22. ^ Tolentino, Jia (2024-09-25). "A Story Collection About People Who Just Can't Hang". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
  23. ^ "Rejection". Kirkus Reviews. July 10, 2024. Retrieved February 11, 2025.
  24. ^ Coleman, Madeline Leung (2024-09-10). "Is Rejection the First Great Incel Novel?". Vulture. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
  25. ^ "BOMB Magazine | Tony Tulathimutte by Anu Khosla". BOMB Magazine. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
  26. ^ Gould, Emily (2024-10-01). "What 4chan and Reddit Thought of Tony Tulathimutte's 'Incel Novel,' Rejection". The Cut. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
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