The Book of Formation

About this book

This debut noveltold in interviewsspans 20 years in the rise and fall of the charismatic leader of a seductive self-help movement. In the 1990s a talk show host leads the "personality movement " an integrative approach to radical self-transformation. Mayah the movements architect and celebrity advocate adopts a curious wild child named Masha Isle. A guinea-pig for the movement and the key to its future Isle is the subject of the eight interviews that comprise this book. As the interviewers objectivity disintegrateseven as the movements legitimacy becomes increasingly suspecthe becomes obsessed with Masha. And all of that is thrown into question when tragedy strikes. The stunning debut of a new literary talent and a fascinating take on the cult of personality: about celebrities need to destroy and recreate themselves to stay relevant public personalities coming to belong to everyone and about our need to see everyone as a kind of celebrity.