Description

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A dark and tender debut set against a writhing backdrop of postapocalyptic New York City.

Acid rainstorms have transformed New York City into a toxic wasteland. Thousands have died and thousands more have been left stranded inside the five self-contained boroughs under military control. In one apartment building, an unlikely family of humans and ghosts survives. Mira reels from a devastating breakup with her partner Mal whose whereabouts are unknown. Now back at home with her mother, Mira calls out to the empty airwaves with her HAM radio in the hopes of reconnecting with Mal, or connecting with anyone at all. Across the hall, Shin, a ghost cockroach, replays his lost life, and a headless man named Sad falls in love. Mira’s mother is plagued by furious dreams alongside Grandpa Why, now a rambunctious ghost. As the world around them worsens, each character must learn to redefine what it means to live, die, and love at the end of the world.

About the Author

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Muriel Leung received her PhD in creative writing and literature from USC and serves on the faculty at the California Institute of the Arts. She is a recipient of fellowships from Kundiman, VONA/Voices Workshop, and Mendocino Coast Writers’ Conference, among others. She lives in Southern California.

Praise For…

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Leung gives us such elegance and tenderness and visions of loss and connection inside this broken world. Here is a book that invites and rewards immersion; the characters and their experiences will stick powerfully with a reader.
— Aimee Bender, author of The Butterfly Lampshade

Muriel Leung’s astonishing transmission from an apocalyptic NYC writhes with heartbreak and wonder. What a gift to share ongoing end-times with this kaleidoscopic cast of ghosts, insects, and grieving humans. Visionary, horny, and surprising at every turn, How to Fall in Love in a Time of Unnameable Disaster is a triumph.

— Henry Hoke, author of Open Throat