‘A captivating, deeply clever, wonderfully strange book. This book possessed me‘
MELISSA ALBERT, author of THE CHILDREN
‘An ambitious symphony of voices and worldbuilding . . . Hello, World! makes something new and haunting’
ERIKA SWYLER, author of THE BOOK OF SPECULATION
A perfect reality. A broken family. The secrets that will unravel everything.
World was created to be perfect, a virtual reality constructed as a shelter from the devastation of the real world. Enter your Preferences, say goodbye to your own reality, and plug in. Here, you can choose every detail -the right house, the right weather, the right life. The only price? You must leave everything behind. No ties, no memories, no baggage.
Aleta Seppala is living what should be an idyllic virtual life with her husband and daughter when she disappears without a trace. Elliane Seppala believes her mother abandoned them. Ted Seppala thinks his wife was taken, and suspects his friend and business partner. Their misery and loneliness aren’t supposed to be possible, not here. Not in World.
Then Elliane meets a mysterious stranger who claims to know exactly what happened to her mother – and she discovers that World might be falling apart, glitch by glitch.
Hello, World! is a high-flying, high concept debut from a major new voice in fiction perfect for readers of Gabrielle Zevin and David Mitchell.
‘A heady, ambitious, thrilling book’
LYNN STEGER STRONG, author of FLIGHT
‘Hello, World! asks big questions . . . and has a lot of fun getting at the answers‘
DARIA LAVELLE, author of AFTERTASTE
MELISSA ALBERT, author of THE CHILDREN
‘An ambitious symphony of voices and worldbuilding . . . Hello, World! makes something new and haunting’
ERIKA SWYLER, author of THE BOOK OF SPECULATION
A perfect reality. A broken family. The secrets that will unravel everything.
World was created to be perfect, a virtual reality constructed as a shelter from the devastation of the real world. Enter your Preferences, say goodbye to your own reality, and plug in. Here, you can choose every detail -the right house, the right weather, the right life. The only price? You must leave everything behind. No ties, no memories, no baggage.
Aleta Seppala is living what should be an idyllic virtual life with her husband and daughter when she disappears without a trace. Elliane Seppala believes her mother abandoned them. Ted Seppala thinks his wife was taken, and suspects his friend and business partner. Their misery and loneliness aren’t supposed to be possible, not here. Not in World.
Then Elliane meets a mysterious stranger who claims to know exactly what happened to her mother – and she discovers that World might be falling apart, glitch by glitch.
Hello, World! is a high-flying, high concept debut from a major new voice in fiction perfect for readers of Gabrielle Zevin and David Mitchell.
‘A heady, ambitious, thrilling book’
LYNN STEGER STRONG, author of FLIGHT
‘Hello, World! asks big questions . . . and has a lot of fun getting at the answers‘
DARIA LAVELLE, author of AFTERTASTE
Reviews
An ambitious symphony of voices and worldbuilding . . . With a simulation that recalls Snow Crash's metaverse, and virtual worlds like Second Life, Tell's Hello, World! makes something new and haunting. The novel deftly critiques the value of preferences, choice, religions, and even happiness, while exploring if true relationships can be made in simulated worlds, with simulated people. It's a pleasure to let the world of World wash over you, and to be left wondering what makes reality
A little bit Vonnegut and a little bit Sim City, Hello, World! asks big questions about truth, existence, humanity, and how our beliefs shape our worlds-both real and digital-and has a lot of fun getting at the answers
What a captivating, deeply clever, wonderfully strange book. I loved it. I read it slowly over the course of a week and by the end found myself honestly considering the possibility that I was living in a simulation. This book possessed me
A heady, ambitious, thrilling book