Misrecognition

Newbound debuts with the underwhelming story of a 20-something woman’s failure to launch. Elsa has recently moved back from New York City to her parents’ house in the Hudson Valley, having been dumped and fired by the artist couple she was sleeping with and working for. Now, Elsa spends a lot of time scrolling through social media and roaming around her small hometown, trying to shake her feelings for the unnamed couple. Eventually she takes a hostess job at a restaurant, where she becomes enamored with a celebrity guest (details suggest Timothee Chalamet) and his companions who are in town for a theater festival. Soon her attention shifts to the actor’s friend, an androgynous person named Sam. The novel shows glimmers of life when Sam enters the picture, taking Elsa to a swimming hole and later to a party for the festival, but the first half is bogged down with overwritten and repetitive depictions of Elsa’s feelings. Here’s hoping Newbound’s next outing will make better use of her intriguing themes. Agent: Anna Stein, CAA. (Aug.)