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The Breakup: A Novel
Not yet published
Expected 18 Aug 26A 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.
- GenresFiction
Kindle Edition
Expected publication August 18, 2026
About the author
Kurt Andersen
48 books564 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 - 4 of 4 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.
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.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews