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The Breakup: A Novel
A penetrating and moving novel about a crumbling marriage, set against the backdrop of a near-future America in the process of its own disintegration, from the New York Times bestselling author of Fantasyland and Evil Geniuses
Natalie and Asher’s marriage has long been marked by fault lines, quiet rifts in how they see the world and the lives they imagined within it. Now with both children nearly grown, their own ambitions at cross purposes, and a world transformed by AI, it feels like they have less in common than ever. After twenty-three years together, they're living apart.
As they navigate the terms of their separation, America is doing the same thing. It’s 2045, and the country is in the throes of a complex, years-long process of redrawing borders after an awful 2030s uprising that ended with red states seceding to form their own government, and blue cities breaking off from those states. While Natalie retreats to her childhood home in Tennessee—most of the state now part of the new Free American Republic—Asher stays behind in San Francisco, running the controversial National Institute of the Mind for a quixotic trillionaire and parenting their younger child, Logan. Apart for the first time in decades, Natalie and Asher’s relationship becomes a mirror of America’s own long unraveling—confused, messy, painful, and impossibly intimate.
When Natalie and Asher are forced back into proximity while touring colleges with Logan, they find themselves on a road trip through a strange, uncertain postwar American landscape, while confronting the flux within their own family. And they are faced with the question the nation already reckoned Is something broken still worth saving?
Razor-sharp, ambitious, at turns tragic and funny, brimming with imagination and surprises, The Breakup is a sweeping story where the personal and sociopolitical intersect in ways bracingly prescient and keenly insightful. And in the end, surprisingly hopeful.
Natalie and Asher’s marriage has long been marked by fault lines, quiet rifts in how they see the world and the lives they imagined within it. Now with both children nearly grown, their own ambitions at cross purposes, and a world transformed by AI, it feels like they have less in common than ever. After twenty-three years together, they're living apart.
As they navigate the terms of their separation, America is doing the same thing. It’s 2045, and the country is in the throes of a complex, years-long process of redrawing borders after an awful 2030s uprising that ended with red states seceding to form their own government, and blue cities breaking off from those states. While Natalie retreats to her childhood home in Tennessee—most of the state now part of the new Free American Republic—Asher stays behind in San Francisco, running the controversial National Institute of the Mind for a quixotic trillionaire and parenting their younger child, Logan. Apart for the first time in decades, Natalie and Asher’s relationship becomes a mirror of America’s own long unraveling—confused, messy, painful, and impossibly intimate.
When Natalie and Asher are forced back into proximity while touring colleges with Logan, they find themselves on a road trip through a strange, uncertain postwar American landscape, while confronting the flux within their own family. And they are faced with the question the nation already reckoned Is something broken still worth saving?
Razor-sharp, ambitious, at turns tragic and funny, brimming with imagination and surprises, The Breakup is a sweeping story where the personal and sociopolitical intersect in ways bracingly prescient and keenly insightful. And in the end, surprisingly hopeful.
558 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 18, 2026
About the author
Kurt Andersen
48 books590 followersKurt Andersen is the author of the novels Turn of the Century, Heyday, and True Believers, and and, with Alec Baldwin of You Can't Spell America Without Me. His non-fiction books include Fantasyland, Reset and The Real Thing.
He is also host of the Peabody Award-winning weekly public radio program Studio 360,.
Previously, Kurt was a co-founder and editor-in-chief of the satirical magazine Spy, editor-in-chief of New York magazine, a columnist for New York, staff writer at The New Yorker, and design and architecture critic for Time.
He is also host of the Peabody Award-winning weekly public radio program Studio 360,.
Previously, Kurt was a co-founder and editor-in-chief of the satirical magazine Spy, editor-in-chief of New York magazine, a columnist for New York, staff writer at The New Yorker, and design and architecture critic for Time.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 stars.
I have real mixed feelings about this one. Essentially the story has three distinct and major parts: 1. A troubled marriage between a couple with "slightly" different political beliefs; 2. The aftermath of a US civil war, which divides the nation into 2 major parts, with cities operating as independent entities; 3. The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into almost every aspect of life.
From my perspective, 2 of the 3 themes were successfully explored: the troubled marriage and the AI infusion. The part about the US civil war was, well, in my eyes, hopelessly political and one-sided, and pretty much an excuse for the author to display his hatred and contempt for half of America. The less I say about this aspect of the book, the better, and I made every effort not to let my distaste for the author's obvious and unhidden bias against the right (who were all fascists and racists, BTW) sour my view on the other parts of the book. This was easier said than done.
The examination of the marriage was interesting, and I feel, worthy itself of the book. The so-called "conservative" one was not in any way a conservative -- she had slightly less nutty views about some social issues.
The author's imaginative views about AI in the near future was fascinating to me, and was easily the most successful aspect of the book.
At over 500 pages, this took an effort and a commitment to read, and clearly took an effort to write.
It will clearly find an audience, and I could see a Netflix series in its future. I hated the political hack job here, but I did appreciate other aspects of the story.
Will I read more from the author? I really don't know.
I received a complimentary e-copy of the book from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.
I have real mixed feelings about this one. Essentially the story has three distinct and major parts: 1. A troubled marriage between a couple with "slightly" different political beliefs; 2. The aftermath of a US civil war, which divides the nation into 2 major parts, with cities operating as independent entities; 3. The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into almost every aspect of life.
From my perspective, 2 of the 3 themes were successfully explored: the troubled marriage and the AI infusion. The part about the US civil war was, well, in my eyes, hopelessly political and one-sided, and pretty much an excuse for the author to display his hatred and contempt for half of America. The less I say about this aspect of the book, the better, and I made every effort not to let my distaste for the author's obvious and unhidden bias against the right (who were all fascists and racists, BTW) sour my view on the other parts of the book. This was easier said than done.
The examination of the marriage was interesting, and I feel, worthy itself of the book. The so-called "conservative" one was not in any way a conservative -- she had slightly less nutty views about some social issues.
The author's imaginative views about AI in the near future was fascinating to me, and was easily the most successful aspect of the book.
At over 500 pages, this took an effort and a commitment to read, and clearly took an effort to write.
It will clearly find an audience, and I could see a Netflix series in its future. I hated the political hack job here, but I did appreciate other aspects of the story.
Will I read more from the author? I really don't know.
I received a complimentary e-copy of the book from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.
August 20, 2026
Tricky take on the future of America, no longer United. As of June 6, 2036 the country is ruptured by warring factions; and in 2045 as The Breakup begins, it refers as much to the state of the nation as to that of the Zimbalists. Natalie Zimbalist from Tennessee and her husband Asher Zimbalist from San Francisco, are from different socio-economic backgrounds, differing degrees of political involvement/aversion; and after 23 years of marriage their children Andy and Logan may be all that keeps them together. Chapters are narrated alternately by Natalie, Asher, their mutual acquaintance Yumi, and "historical" news dispatches.
I really like the Zimbalist story, and the political upheaval story too, but there was altogether too much else going on in this book to keep track of, for me personally. I found the footnotes alone to be staggering, let alone all the anagrams. I'm already overwhelmed by present day current events, and The Breakup's politics of Disunion were ever so way much more complex. Essentially in this version of the future, the (democratic) United States of America and the (republican) Free American Republic exist independent of each other, but animosity and violence between the two sides continues. Another thing I really grappled with was the family's ongoing remarking upon synchronicity where they often find it - uncanny coincidences involving historical and modern day significance, family or otherwise personal ties, and day to day minutiae.
I did love the comical name dropping throughout the book, Bad Bunny as actor, Elon Musk's future exes, Vice President Elissa Slotkin, Governor Travis Kelce, President AOC, Fox anchor Arabella Kushner, etc and I found 2045 as author Kurt Andersen imagines it to be fascinating but depressing. My most favorite things by far were the talking tortoise, and the escalator death!
I really like the Zimbalist story, and the political upheaval story too, but there was altogether too much else going on in this book to keep track of, for me personally. I found the footnotes alone to be staggering, let alone all the anagrams. I'm already overwhelmed by present day current events, and The Breakup's politics of Disunion were ever so way much more complex. Essentially in this version of the future, the (democratic) United States of America and the (republican) Free American Republic exist independent of each other, but animosity and violence between the two sides continues. Another thing I really grappled with was the family's ongoing remarking upon synchronicity where they often find it - uncanny coincidences involving historical and modern day significance, family or otherwise personal ties, and day to day minutiae.
I did love the comical name dropping throughout the book, Bad Bunny as actor, Elon Musk's future exes, Vice President Elissa Slotkin, Governor Travis Kelce, President AOC, Fox anchor Arabella Kushner, etc and I found 2045 as author Kurt Andersen imagines it to be fascinating but depressing. My most favorite things by far were the talking tortoise, and the escalator death!
August 22, 2026
The Breakup is an ambitious near-future novel that uses the collapse of a marriage to explore the fractures running through an increasingly divided America. Set in 2045, the story places Natalie and Asher on opposite sides of a dramatically redrawn United States after years of political upheaval and civil conflict. Their twenty three year marriage becomes a deeply personal reflection of a country struggling to determine what can still hold it together.
The road-trip structure gives the novel an especially interesting way to examine this fractured landscape. As Natalie and Asher travel together while visiting colleges with their seventeen year old, they encounter an America transformed by technological change, political violence, and the consequences of division. Their own unresolved differences become impossible to separate from the larger questions surrounding the country, particularly as they confront which disagreements can be overcome and which may be impossible to reconcile.
Readers who enjoy dystopian fiction, political fiction, speculative novels, social commentary, family dramas, and stories that connect intimate relationships with larger cultural questions should find The Breakup particularly thought provoking. Its combination of near future world building, marriage and family dynamics, political tension, and darkly imaginative possibilities gives the novel a distinctive appeal. At its heart, the story asks a surprisingly human question: when something is deeply damaged, is it possible and worthwhile to save it?
The road-trip structure gives the novel an especially interesting way to examine this fractured landscape. As Natalie and Asher travel together while visiting colleges with their seventeen year old, they encounter an America transformed by technological change, political violence, and the consequences of division. Their own unresolved differences become impossible to separate from the larger questions surrounding the country, particularly as they confront which disagreements can be overcome and which may be impossible to reconcile.
Readers who enjoy dystopian fiction, political fiction, speculative novels, social commentary, family dramas, and stories that connect intimate relationships with larger cultural questions should find The Breakup particularly thought provoking. Its combination of near future world building, marriage and family dynamics, political tension, and darkly imaginative possibilities gives the novel a distinctive appeal. At its heart, the story asks a surprisingly human question: when something is deeply damaged, is it possible and worthwhile to save it?
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
RATING: 2.5
As a fan of dystopian fiction I was really intrigued by the premise of the breakup.
The story is about Natalie and Asher’s marriage. Set in an America that is woefully divided both ideologically and physically in the year 2045. The country has separated into two distinct parts, with cities operating as independent entities. And Artificial Intelligence is suffused into almost every aspect of life.
Natalie and Asher come back together as they tour colleges with their seventeen-year-old child, using the road trip to move through a country altered by violence, secession, and technology. But ultimately it’s a story about they each experience their own reality, clinging to narratives that comfort them. As they travel through the country they each encounter things that should complicate what they believe, and yet, they find ways to make those things fit the story they already carry.
With all that said I think the idea was great and there was a lot of good elements in this book. Anderson’s exploration of AI in a near future being one of the highlights. But it was incredibly drawn out and overwritten which made for a really hard read. I found the characters unlikable, shallow, and underdeveloped which was incredibly frustrating in a book that's 576 pages. Ultimately the long drawn-out narrative had little payoff.
Thank you to NetGalley & Random House for the ARC
As a fan of dystopian fiction I was really intrigued by the premise of the breakup.
The story is about Natalie and Asher’s marriage. Set in an America that is woefully divided both ideologically and physically in the year 2045. The country has separated into two distinct parts, with cities operating as independent entities. And Artificial Intelligence is suffused into almost every aspect of life.
Natalie and Asher come back together as they tour colleges with their seventeen-year-old child, using the road trip to move through a country altered by violence, secession, and technology. But ultimately it’s a story about they each experience their own reality, clinging to narratives that comfort them. As they travel through the country they each encounter things that should complicate what they believe, and yet, they find ways to make those things fit the story they already carry.
With all that said I think the idea was great and there was a lot of good elements in this book. Anderson’s exploration of AI in a near future being one of the highlights. But it was incredibly drawn out and overwritten which made for a really hard read. I found the characters unlikable, shallow, and underdeveloped which was incredibly frustrating in a book that's 576 pages. Ultimately the long drawn-out narrative had little payoff.
Thank you to NetGalley & Random House for the ARC
August 18, 2026
The concept of this story drew me in quickly. The year is 2045, two years since the second Civil War in America and now the states are deciding to stay or leave the union and all around is AI and the tech world that has taken over daily life. Now add in a messy relationship between Natalie and Asher dealing with feelings of being on almost opposite sides of the American disunion argument. The chapters are broken into different POVs in chronological order by dates which came across interesting at first but then became kind of mundane and repetitive which resulted in being bored. I was ready even up to the end of the novel for something to happen to hold my attention and give me reason to keep going. Kurt Andersen’s writing and storytelling was accessible and organized well. I loved reading the publication pieces by Natalie and the confidential records that were included throughout the novel to give a sense of what was happening leading up to and including 2045. It was just that the story didn’t seem to go anywhere in my opinion except on watching the introspective realization of what each figure out what side of things they belonged. It was an interesting read but one that maybe could have achieved so much more with the storyline.
Thank you, Kurt Andersen and Random House for providing this e-ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.
Thank you, Kurt Andersen and Random House for providing this e-ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley.
My feeling as I read the majority of this book and as I finished can be summed up with a shrug. It was ok. I think there were some really good ideas in here, and some really wonderful writing (I highlighted multiple sentences and paragraphs), but the end product feels a little sterile, like watching a Netflix show that was made quickly to "meet the times". The characters felt thin, which is odd because you spend so much time with them, particularly as a majority of the book is journal entries from them. Everyone in the book felt like a representation of something or someone, rather than a person who lived a life and was dealing with the aftermath of a second Civil War. The parts about AI were fine, the parts about the Civil War were more interesting than anything, as Andersen had to take a guess at what the next 20 years will look like. I don't know that I would recommend this to my friends, but if I saw them reading it, I wouldn't stop them, I'd just ask them about it when they were done.
My feeling as I read the majority of this book and as I finished can be summed up with a shrug. It was ok. I think there were some really good ideas in here, and some really wonderful writing (I highlighted multiple sentences and paragraphs), but the end product feels a little sterile, like watching a Netflix show that was made quickly to "meet the times". The characters felt thin, which is odd because you spend so much time with them, particularly as a majority of the book is journal entries from them. Everyone in the book felt like a representation of something or someone, rather than a person who lived a life and was dealing with the aftermath of a second Civil War. The parts about AI were fine, the parts about the Civil War were more interesting than anything, as Andersen had to take a guess at what the next 20 years will look like. I don't know that I would recommend this to my friends, but if I saw them reading it, I wouldn't stop them, I'd just ask them about it when they were done.
August 24, 2026
The Breakup is a book that absolutely could not figure out what it wanted to be.
We’re in a future where AI is everywhere, basically infinitely capable, and apparently has enough free time to translate the thoughts of 125-year-old turtles. The United States has fractured into smaller countries. AOC and Tucker Carlson are heads of state. Somewhere in the middle of all this, a couple is slowly breaking up.
And somehow none of those things are as interesting as they sound.
There are political ideas, AI satire, relationship drama, speculative futurism, and assorted weirdness all fighting for control of the same book. Instead of coming together into something clever, it mostly feels like Andersen kept adding ingredients and forgot he was supposed to eventually make a meal.
I almost gave up on this one early, which says a lot considering how stubborn I am about finishing books. I kept waiting for all the pieces to click into place. They never did.
One star for the 125-year-old turtle. She deserved a better book.
We’re in a future where AI is everywhere, basically infinitely capable, and apparently has enough free time to translate the thoughts of 125-year-old turtles. The United States has fractured into smaller countries. AOC and Tucker Carlson are heads of state. Somewhere in the middle of all this, a couple is slowly breaking up.
And somehow none of those things are as interesting as they sound.
There are political ideas, AI satire, relationship drama, speculative futurism, and assorted weirdness all fighting for control of the same book. Instead of coming together into something clever, it mostly feels like Andersen kept adding ingredients and forgot he was supposed to eventually make a meal.
I almost gave up on this one early, which says a lot considering how stubborn I am about finishing books. I kept waiting for all the pieces to click into place. They never did.
One star for the 125-year-old turtle. She deserved a better book.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The Breakup by Kurt Andersen is a novel looking at a not too far in the distant future America and it's bleak. Unfortunately, I was unable to finish the book. A couple of factors drove that decision - one, I am a voracious reader of non=fiction, especially history and current events. So the way "The Breakup" is playing out, it hits very close to home as we self-destruct in the US today. Secondly, I found it very difficult to connect with the characters. Andersen is a very good write, don't get me wrong. It was simply hard to connect or empathize with the main characters. And maybe that was the point? Ultimately, this wasn't for me and I opted out of finishing it. This book will appeal to many people of that I'm sure, it just wasn't for me. Thank you to #netgalley and #randomhouse for the opportunity to preview this book.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher Random House for this one-star eARC.
In a future where the United States has split after a civil war, Natalie and Asher are a long-married couple living in very different parts of the country and holding very different beliefs. They've come back together to take their teenager on college visits, and end up on a road trip through a changed and uneasy version of America. As they travel, they are forced to deal with both the divided country around them and the unresolved issues in their marriage.
Despite the strong idea behind the story, the book didn’t work well for me. The writing felt choppy and hard to follow, which made it difficult to stay interested. I also found the main characters dull and hard to connect with, so it was tough to care about what happened to them. Overall, it was a struggle to finish, and I wouldn’t recommend it.
In a future where the United States has split after a civil war, Natalie and Asher are a long-married couple living in very different parts of the country and holding very different beliefs. They've come back together to take their teenager on college visits, and end up on a road trip through a changed and uneasy version of America. As they travel, they are forced to deal with both the divided country around them and the unresolved issues in their marriage.
Despite the strong idea behind the story, the book didn’t work well for me. The writing felt choppy and hard to follow, which made it difficult to stay interested. I also found the main characters dull and hard to connect with, so it was tough to care about what happened to them. Overall, it was a struggle to finish, and I wouldn’t recommend it.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This novel projects the future breakup of the United States in the not too distant future based off of current events. Running parallel to this is the breakup of a couple. I found the author’s writing style disjointed making it a difficult read. add to that that the main characters were uninteresting for the most part and it added to the struggle to finish the book.
I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Goodreads, Net Galley, Amazon, and my fiction book review blog.
I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Goodreads, Net Galley, Amazon, and my fiction book review blog.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The subject matter of this novel is intriguing -- political discord, re-drawn borders, AI going crazy, a struggling marriage. There is a lot to take in, and as the story is set in 2045, the novel portrays a future that, frankly, isn't very appealing. I liked some aspects of the plot, but the book was very long-winded, and I kept waiting for resolutions instead of being led on and on. Maybe with some editing, I would have enjoyed it better.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Random House for the eARC and the opportunity to read this novel. All opinions are my own.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Random House for the eARC and the opportunity to read this novel. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I have enjoyed all of Andersen's books that I have read. His last two non-fiction books (Fantasyland and Evil Geniuses) feed into this post-breakup United States speculative fiction. It is chock full of ideas, but it didn't always balance story with setting well. Still, I enjoyed reading two chapters each morning. Both Natalie and Ash are indelible characters (who I rooted for despite their differences) and there are captivating plot moments. I have now read three US breakup stories (The Biography of X and Exit Party) and may write more about them in regards to each other.
July 28, 2026
The Breakup has a great concept, but the reading experience was a chore. A near‑future, post–civil war America with AI everywhere and a marriage falling apart in the middle of it should be sharp and emotionally layered. Instead, the whole thing feels oddly boring and one‑sided. For a book that’s supposed to be evocative it only evoked boredom.
My biggest issue is the sheer length. The page count is wildly disproportionate to the payoff. The plot meanders, the commentary drones on, and there’s never enough momentum to justify that word count. I kept waiting for the big emotional or political gut punch that would make all those pages feel necessary, and it just never came. Interesting premise, but it’s not worth the time.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!
My biggest issue is the sheer length. The page count is wildly disproportionate to the payoff. The plot meanders, the commentary drones on, and there’s never enough momentum to justify that word count. I kept waiting for the big emotional or political gut punch that would make all those pages feel necessary, and it just never came. Interesting premise, but it’s not worth the time.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!
August 24, 2026
Challenge is a one word synopsis. Challenge to read, Challenge in a marriage, Challenge for our country torn apart, Challenge to accept a world domination by artificial intelligence. Set in 2045 raises question of an updated 1984.
I found it overly long at 600 pages, overly technical in the intelligence sciences,
Just overly.
I found it overly long at 600 pages, overly technical in the intelligence sciences,
Just overly.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
the writing was so abrupt for an idea that required sensitive and proper execution. also those chapter endnotes seemed unnecessary but were quite telling about the person behind this work (derogatory).
thank you to netgalley and random house for the ARC!
thank you to netgalley and random house for the ARC!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Dystopian book with 3 parts: the breakup of marriage in part to differing political views, US civil.war, and the future of AI. The book was a mixed bag for me. I found the section on AI to be into but the rest of the book a chore to read.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into this one. I wish I did not have to DNF an ARC, and hope others like it more than I did.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3.5*, rounded up
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