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Satellite
Not yet published
Expected 30 Mar 27Win a free print copy of this book!
12 days and 12:21:14
15 copies available
U.S. only
It’s the mid-90s, and Paul and Johanna are living a comfortable life in rural New Jersey. When Paul met and wooed Johanna, she was waiting tables at a miserable dive in North Carolina. Now, she has a nice house, a pool, and a purpose: her charming, devastatingly handsome husband, a successful small-business owner nine years her senior. So when Paul sits down to dinner one night and asks her for a divorce, Johanna is utterly blindsided. She refuses.
Soon thereafter, Paul is paralyzed in an accident. Johanna becomes his devoted caretaker, and talk of separation is forgotten. In her free moments, Johanna watches television—satellite TV, with its hundreds of channels, a reliable escape from her arduous days. Until she stumbles on something unusual: an extra channel, not found in the TV guide, whose only show is a round-the-clock feed of a woman who looks, acts, and talks just like her. Except this other Johanna lives in New York City, alone, and seems to have a different person in her bed every night. As watching morphs from hobby to obsession, the drama moves off-screen and begins to encroach on Johanna’s real life, threatening everything she holds most dear.
Provocative and profound, Satellite is a transfixing novel that boldly explores the love, care, boredom, pleasure, resentment, and connection that make a marriage—and how transgressive it can feel to choose yourself. As compulsively readable as it is deeply felt, this novel confirms Isle McElroy as a virtuosic writer at the height of their talents.
Soon thereafter, Paul is paralyzed in an accident. Johanna becomes his devoted caretaker, and talk of separation is forgotten. In her free moments, Johanna watches television—satellite TV, with its hundreds of channels, a reliable escape from her arduous days. Until she stumbles on something unusual: an extra channel, not found in the TV guide, whose only show is a round-the-clock feed of a woman who looks, acts, and talks just like her. Except this other Johanna lives in New York City, alone, and seems to have a different person in her bed every night. As watching morphs from hobby to obsession, the drama moves off-screen and begins to encroach on Johanna’s real life, threatening everything she holds most dear.
Provocative and profound, Satellite is a transfixing novel that boldly explores the love, care, boredom, pleasure, resentment, and connection that make a marriage—and how transgressive it can feel to choose yourself. As compulsively readable as it is deeply felt, this novel confirms Isle McElroy as a virtuosic writer at the height of their talents.
- GenresFictionContemporary
288 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication March 30, 2027
About the author
Isle McElroy
9 books247 followersIsle McElroy is based in Brooklyn. Their debut novel, The Atmospherians, was named a NY Times Editors' Choice. Their second novel, People Collide, was named a best book of 2023 by Vulture, NPR, Vogue and was a New York Times Critics' Pick. Their third novel, Satellite, will be published by Viking in 2027. Other writing appears in The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, The Guardian, The Cut, Vulture, GQ, Vogue, The Atlantic, Tin House, and elsewhere.
Isle was named one of The Strand's 30 Writers to Watch. They have received fellowships from The Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, The Tin House Summer Workshop, The Sewanee Writers Conference, The Inprint Foundation, The Elizabeth George Foundation, and The National Parks Service.
Isle was named one of The Strand's 30 Writers to Watch. They have received fellowships from The Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, The Tin House Summer Workshop, The Sewanee Writers Conference, The Inprint Foundation, The Elizabeth George Foundation, and The National Parks Service.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
What did I just read?! I don’t even know how to explain it, but it was bizarre, twisted, completely fascinating and I could not put it down. I loved it!
The premise was so unique and unlike anything I’ve read in a while. The more the story unfolded, the stranger and more twisted it became and I was completely fascinated by it. I never totally knew who or what to trust and I loved that feeling of constantly wondering where this was going.
The writing style was also really distinct and fit the strangeness of the story so well. Underneath all the craziness, there was actually a lot about identity, marriage, resentment, freedom and whether we really see the people we love. It ended up being much more thought provoking than I expected going in.
The beginning was somewhat slower and it took about the first half for things to really get moving. There were also moments when I had to stop questioning how any of this could possibly work and just go with it. But once it picked up, I was completely in. The second half got better and better and that last quarter had me flying through the pages.
This was strange, dark, funny, completely chaotic and so different. Somehow it all worked. Definitely one I won’t forget anytime soon and I highly recommend it!
Thank you so much to Viking Penguin for the advance reader copy! I’m so grateful for the opportunity to read my first Isle McElroy novel in exchange for my honest feedback.
The premise was so unique and unlike anything I’ve read in a while. The more the story unfolded, the stranger and more twisted it became and I was completely fascinated by it. I never totally knew who or what to trust and I loved that feeling of constantly wondering where this was going.
The writing style was also really distinct and fit the strangeness of the story so well. Underneath all the craziness, there was actually a lot about identity, marriage, resentment, freedom and whether we really see the people we love. It ended up being much more thought provoking than I expected going in.
The beginning was somewhat slower and it took about the first half for things to really get moving. There were also moments when I had to stop questioning how any of this could possibly work and just go with it. But once it picked up, I was completely in. The second half got better and better and that last quarter had me flying through the pages.
This was strange, dark, funny, completely chaotic and so different. Somehow it all worked. Definitely one I won’t forget anytime soon and I highly recommend it!
Thank you so much to Viking Penguin for the advance reader copy! I’m so grateful for the opportunity to read my first Isle McElroy novel in exchange for my honest feedback.
Review of advance copy received from Author
trust me
October 14, 2026
Thank you NetGalley for an e-ARC!
wow! I really enjoyed this book. I loved being in Joey’s mind. The portrayal of disability and caretaking left me feeling raw. The first half of the book is slow but not in a bad way, a way that absolutely fits and pulls you into her life. When finally halfway through things start to get even weirder. The ending was just perfect. I really recommend this one.
wow! I really enjoyed this book. I loved being in Joey’s mind. The portrayal of disability and caretaking left me feeling raw. The first half of the book is slow but not in a bad way, a way that absolutely fits and pulls you into her life. When finally halfway through things start to get even weirder. The ending was just perfect. I really recommend this one.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I read this book in one day! Couldn’t put it down. The concept was intriguing, the writing was sharp, the observations were insightful, and the depiction of the denizens of exurban New Jersey was respectful.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I tore through this one. McElroy is fantastic on a line level, with sharp, observant prose and standout imagery. I underlined something on every page.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you NetGalley and Viking Penguin for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!
Whoa wtf did I just read (complimentary)! I really don’t know if I’ve read a book with so many twists I didn’t expect. What a ride!
Johanna is a caretaker for her husband Paul who had been paralyzed in an accident right after asking her for a divorce. Caretaking is a full time job and effort and Johanna watches TV to escape, only to find a mysterious tv channel showing a woman’s life that looks suspiciously like Johanna, only with a better, thriving life. Her obsession with the woman soon follows.
This book was so far out of the realm of my expectations from the synopsis and I could. not. put it down. I needed to know what messed up thing happened next.
I’d go as far to say every character in this novel is unlikeable. At the beginning for me, it was getting to be almost too much, but the plot twists really helped me relate or just understand more to where it wasn’t an issue with me
My dislike of this book consisted of weak prose and plot holes I think could be resolved if the novel were longer. It’s a novel on the shorter side, things could be expanded upon. Perhaps it is the author’s choice to have a sort of unexplained mysteries element to the novel, but I would have liked it more wrapped in a bow.
Whoa wtf did I just read (complimentary)! I really don’t know if I’ve read a book with so many twists I didn’t expect. What a ride!
Johanna is a caretaker for her husband Paul who had been paralyzed in an accident right after asking her for a divorce. Caretaking is a full time job and effort and Johanna watches TV to escape, only to find a mysterious tv channel showing a woman’s life that looks suspiciously like Johanna, only with a better, thriving life. Her obsession with the woman soon follows.
This book was so far out of the realm of my expectations from the synopsis and I could. not. put it down. I needed to know what messed up thing happened next.
I’d go as far to say every character in this novel is unlikeable. At the beginning for me, it was getting to be almost too much, but the plot twists really helped me relate or just understand more to where it wasn’t an issue with me
My dislike of this book consisted of weak prose and plot holes I think could be resolved if the novel were longer. It’s a novel on the shorter side, things could be expanded upon. Perhaps it is the author’s choice to have a sort of unexplained mysteries element to the novel, but I would have liked it more wrapped in a bow.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
Satellite follows Johanna in 1995. She lives in New Jersey and is married to a man called Paul. Two years ago, Paul asked Johanna for a divorce, she said no and a couple of weeks later, Paul had an accident at work and ends up paralysed. After Paul’s accident, divorce wasn’t mentioned again and now she spends her time caring for him. She does her best to look after him by preparing meals, drying him after a shower, dressing him for work and cleaning him after any accidents. She does love him but feels very lonely and adrift. Johanna is watching TV one day when Paul is at work and she sees a woman who looks just like her. It seems to be a 24 hour feed of this woman’s life but she is living a completely different life to Johanna. The woman lives in New York and it makes Johanna think about what her life could have been if she and Paul divorced. Johanna starts to become obsessed with the woman but the woman has plans of her own which causes chaos in Johanna’s life.
To start with the positives, I will be recommending this book. This book is written well and the prose is easy to read. The setting is done well and it’s clear the author has done their research. There are mentions of Rush Limbaugh and the politics that were being discussed at the time. It’s easy to understand Johanna’s motivations and the way she is bored and unsatisfied with her life. She didn’t want to get divorced and does love her husband but it’s a lot of work to look after him. I’m sure many people will be able to relate to Johanna’s feelings as it’s not easy to unexpectedly become a carer. That said, this wasn’t the perfect book for me as I didn’t fully connect with it. I felt a bit too removed from the book and honestly, just got a bit bored. I thought the doppelgänger was going to be stranger than it was as I thought this was going to be a weird book and it just wasn’t.
Satellite follows Johanna in 1995. She lives in New Jersey and is married to a man called Paul. Two years ago, Paul asked Johanna for a divorce, she said no and a couple of weeks later, Paul had an accident at work and ends up paralysed. After Paul’s accident, divorce wasn’t mentioned again and now she spends her time caring for him. She does her best to look after him by preparing meals, drying him after a shower, dressing him for work and cleaning him after any accidents. She does love him but feels very lonely and adrift. Johanna is watching TV one day when Paul is at work and she sees a woman who looks just like her. It seems to be a 24 hour feed of this woman’s life but she is living a completely different life to Johanna. The woman lives in New York and it makes Johanna think about what her life could have been if she and Paul divorced. Johanna starts to become obsessed with the woman but the woman has plans of her own which causes chaos in Johanna’s life.
To start with the positives, I will be recommending this book. This book is written well and the prose is easy to read. The setting is done well and it’s clear the author has done their research. There are mentions of Rush Limbaugh and the politics that were being discussed at the time. It’s easy to understand Johanna’s motivations and the way she is bored and unsatisfied with her life. She didn’t want to get divorced and does love her husband but it’s a lot of work to look after him. I’m sure many people will be able to relate to Johanna’s feelings as it’s not easy to unexpectedly become a carer. That said, this wasn’t the perfect book for me as I didn’t fully connect with it. I felt a bit too removed from the book and honestly, just got a bit bored. I thought the doppelgänger was going to be stranger than it was as I thought this was going to be a weird book and it just wasn’t.
Read
September 29, 2026Thanks to netgalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review
A character study of a woman caring for her disabled husband who becomes obsessed with her doppelganger, which she discovers by setting her TV to a particular channel. I think that the doppelganger (a version of her who DID leave her husband before his accident, when he asked her for a divorce) was meant to provide commentary on caregiving as both a prison and a joy but I am not sure it went that far. The doppelganger was unhinged so the first half felt like literary fiction with a ton of flashbacks and character development and the second half was almost a thriller of this woman trying to take over her life. The satellite was of the era (90s) and related the accident and there was some motioning toward it being this mythical, magical thing that literally made other realities possible or at least visible but the execution of it as a metaphor was sometimes strong and sometimes confusing. Paul and Joey were really round characters though. The slow slow pace of the first half and the unhinged twin thing of the second were hard for me.
A character study of a woman caring for her disabled husband who becomes obsessed with her doppelganger, which she discovers by setting her TV to a particular channel. I think that the doppelganger (a version of her who DID leave her husband before his accident, when he asked her for a divorce) was meant to provide commentary on caregiving as both a prison and a joy but I am not sure it went that far. The doppelganger was unhinged so the first half felt like literary fiction with a ton of flashbacks and character development and the second half was almost a thriller of this woman trying to take over her life. The satellite was of the era (90s) and related the accident and there was some motioning toward it being this mythical, magical thing that literally made other realities possible or at least visible but the execution of it as a metaphor was sometimes strong and sometimes confusing. Paul and Joey were really round characters though. The slow slow pace of the first half and the unhinged twin thing of the second were hard for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Wow. I tore through this book.
Johanna spends her days caring for her paralyzed husband, but just weeks before the accident, that same husband asked her for a divorce which she refused. One day, she discovers a mysterious half channel on the tv broadcasting an alternate version of her own life. Single, living in New York City, and seemingly living a better life than Johanna’s present.
This was bizarre in the best way, and a fresh twist on a doppelgänger existence. Instead of figuring out the how or the why it’s happening, Johanna decides to explore the other life and starts to unravel so much more than she expected. The writing was sharp and ambiguous, and the ending is perfectly open-ended. I think this will be quite buzzy come publication.
Thank you to NetGalley and Viking Penguin for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!
Johanna spends her days caring for her paralyzed husband, but just weeks before the accident, that same husband asked her for a divorce which she refused. One day, she discovers a mysterious half channel on the tv broadcasting an alternate version of her own life. Single, living in New York City, and seemingly living a better life than Johanna’s present.
This was bizarre in the best way, and a fresh twist on a doppelgänger existence. Instead of figuring out the how or the why it’s happening, Johanna decides to explore the other life and starts to unravel so much more than she expected. The writing was sharp and ambiguous, and the ending is perfectly open-ended. I think this will be quite buzzy come publication.
Thank you to NetGalley and Viking Penguin for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Imagine you're flipping through the channels, and you find an alternate version of yourself. The one that left your husband after he asked for a divorce and before he got into an accident that left him paralyzed. How different would your life be? Well that's exactly what happened to Joey.
***********
I really loved the concept of this novel, but the execution went very different than I was expecting it to, but surpringly, it worked for me!! I loved watching Joey become obsessed with Johanna and the constant wondering of "what if" if she decided to leave her husband. My biggest gripe is that it felt a little too lit fic at times with all the background of Joey and the town; I just wish we focused on the Joey / Johanna dynamic a little bit more. But overall a super entertaining read that left me thinking wtf???
Thank you to NetGalley and Viking for the ARC!!!
***********
I really loved the concept of this novel, but the execution went very different than I was expecting it to, but surpringly, it worked for me!! I loved watching Joey become obsessed with Johanna and the constant wondering of "what if" if she decided to leave her husband. My biggest gripe is that it felt a little too lit fic at times with all the background of Joey and the town; I just wish we focused on the Joey / Johanna dynamic a little bit more. But overall a super entertaining read that left me thinking wtf???
Thank you to NetGalley and Viking for the ARC!!!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This was such a unique and fascinating book with a relatable plot and I loved that it takes place in the 90s. Johanna is a character I truly adored as she navigates her life and marriage and the possibility that she could escape it all. There were so many emotions I felt as I read and I could feel her going through them too like boredom, resentment, and love. This was a hard one to put down. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
October 19, 2026
Satellite by Isle McElroy was a very unique read. The concept was so intriguing and gives a good commentary on what we imagine life could be with a few minor changes that can have major impact. The beginning was a bit slow for me but I’m so glad that I pushed through because the payoff of that ending made the slow pacing of the beginning a necessity. Thank you to NetGalley and Viking Penguin for the ARC!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to Viking Penguin for an ARC of Satellite via NetGalley.
This book was not what I expected going in, but it was thought-provoking nonetheless. I would recommend it for readers who enjoy a story that focuses more on character study than on a fast-paced plot. Despite the slower pace I finished it quickly and was satisfied with the ending.
3.5 stars
This book was not what I expected going in, but it was thought-provoking nonetheless. I would recommend it for readers who enjoy a story that focuses more on character study than on a fast-paced plot. Despite the slower pace I finished it quickly and was satisfied with the ending.
3.5 stars
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
If you like thrillers with some steam, this is for you.
While I didn't care much for the protagonist, Joey, I did enjoy her dialogue with the husband. They seemed witty and yet real. Joey herself, seemed rather guileless and simple, and I wanted a bit more depth from her.
I did read it in a day so it's a quick one! Thank you to Penguin & Viking for the ARC.
3.25
While I didn't care much for the protagonist, Joey, I did enjoy her dialogue with the husband. They seemed witty and yet real. Joey herself, seemed rather guileless and simple, and I wanted a bit more depth from her.
I did read it in a day so it's a quick one! Thank you to Penguin & Viking for the ARC.
3.25
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The beginning is slow but if you stick around there is a rich literary sci fi character study of a woman acting as a caregiver. I think this book will really connect for maladaptive daydreamers. Interesting premise that was executed well.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
maybe i missed something but this did not click for me the way i thought it would. it was well written and i really enjoyed the dialogue between the characters, but i just couldn’t connect with it
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!
Review of advance copy received from Author
Sexy and devastating. A stunning exploration of intimacy, both of caregiving and with the self.
Want to Read
November 4, 2026What a compelling concept! Something to look forward to in 2027.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received an advance reader copy of this book and am voluntarily providing an honest review.
Premise
After her husband became paralyzed shortly after asking for a divorce, a woman met her doppelganger through her satellite TV and reassesses her life.
Liked
* Penetrating examination of the story we tell ourselves in relationships, including all things left unsaid and unknowable
* Subversive, wry humor reminiscent of Big Swiss
* Believable characters whose inner struggle is immediately relatable
* Dares to explore modern marriages and the sacrifices entailed by bringing “what-ifs" to life
Not for Me
* Slow-paced, character-driven study
Closing Comment
If you can stay patient for the premise to fully expand, this domestic, sci-fi tinged novel will leave you plenty to think about long after it's over.
Premise
After her husband became paralyzed shortly after asking for a divorce, a woman met her doppelganger through her satellite TV and reassesses her life.
Liked
* Penetrating examination of the story we tell ourselves in relationships, including all things left unsaid and unknowable
* Subversive, wry humor reminiscent of Big Swiss
* Believable characters whose inner struggle is immediately relatable
* Dares to explore modern marriages and the sacrifices entailed by bringing “what-ifs" to life
Not for Me
* Slow-paced, character-driven study
Closing Comment
If you can stay patient for the premise to fully expand, this domestic, sci-fi tinged novel will leave you plenty to think about long after it's over.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews