What do you think?
Rate this book
New People of the Flat Earth
A man chases after a mysterious metal object that may not even exist — and his journey leads him on to ever-greater levels of madness, dissociation, and metaphysical conundrums.
After ten years in a Zen monastery, Proteus knows it's time to leave. A troubled, solitary man, he knows what he seeks is not to be found sitting in meditation. His problem is that, during his time at the monastery, he's discovered something strange inside his mind: the ability to connect with a mysterious, silent, metallic spherical object he calls Mosquito. His connection to this possibly extraterrestrial object, which seems to dwell on an existential plane of its own, gives Proteus a flimsy sense of purpose. So when Mosquito abruptly disappears one day, Proteus can't bear the loss, and he sets off in pursuit of answers.
Thus starts a surreal, philosophically maddening quest for meaning. Chasing the elusive Mosquito leads Proteus to in-between worlds where things do not quite hold together, and where the living and the dead must learn to live in and out of the boundaries of time. The further he gets from sanity, the closer he comes to something that may turn out to be wisdom.
Playful but unapologetically challenging, New People of the Flat Earth is a breathtakingly original novel that defies categorisation or summary.
After ten years in a Zen monastery, Proteus knows it's time to leave. A troubled, solitary man, he knows what he seeks is not to be found sitting in meditation. His problem is that, during his time at the monastery, he's discovered something strange inside his mind: the ability to connect with a mysterious, silent, metallic spherical object he calls Mosquito. His connection to this possibly extraterrestrial object, which seems to dwell on an existential plane of its own, gives Proteus a flimsy sense of purpose. So when Mosquito abruptly disappears one day, Proteus can't bear the loss, and he sets off in pursuit of answers.
Thus starts a surreal, philosophically maddening quest for meaning. Chasing the elusive Mosquito leads Proteus to in-between worlds where things do not quite hold together, and where the living and the dead must learn to live in and out of the boundaries of time. The further he gets from sanity, the closer he comes to something that may turn out to be wisdom.
Playful but unapologetically challenging, New People of the Flat Earth is a breathtakingly original novel that defies categorisation or summary.
- GenresFictionScience Fiction
752 pages, Paperback
Published January 16, 2018
6 people are currently reading
96 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 29, 2018
Oh goodness gracious, what an experience. A journey that will need more than one trip through, but the vague outlines of its meaning flash about in my brain pan, revealing themselves for only an instant at a time. Nothing much can be said of the book; it was words. I enjoyed it immensely. Page turner
December 30, 2018
I take back what I said about David Foster Wallace's "The Pale King". THIS was the hardest, and weirdest book I've read so far. I'm not convinced I understood 10% of the book. But I liked it! Would recommend to anyone who wants to have their brain slightly expanded, or at least rearranged.
April 16, 2025
An excellent novel, one that I’m not sure I understood much of. At some point I will need to read it again in an attempt to get more out of it.
I couldn’t really tell you what it was about, but I can tell you that I enjoyed it. A gripping tale. Would recommend.
I couldn’t really tell you what it was about, but I can tell you that I enjoyed it. A gripping tale. Would recommend.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews