A Brutal Design

“There were moments in Solomon’s novel that truly frightened me, and yet, like its narrator, Samuel Zelnik, I found myself obsessively compelled to uncover its mysteries. This is a haunting, thought-provoking novel that shows a place where the senseless meets reality.” — Gabe Habash, author of Stephen Florida

“Keenly political, rich with implications for both the past and the future. This is an exhilarating and boldly original debut.” — Helen Phillips, author of The Need

"A BRUTAL DESIGN is a deft blend of sci-fi, noir, and a dash of Sebald that examines our yearning for utopia. It is propelled by unease, yet funny and beautiful, too. Once I started reading it, I could not stop." — Erin Somers, author of Stay Up With Hugo Best

“An uncompromising portrait of the human psyche.” — Soon Wiley, author of When We Fell Apart

After the fascist takeover of his homeland and the murder of his parents, Jewish architecture student Samuel Zelnik thinks that he and his friends are bound for the gulag—or worse. Instead, he receives an unexpected offer of freedom working in the experimental utopian city of Duma. Awed by the city’s dramatic architecture but confused by the other residents’ strange behavior, Zelnik searches for his long-lost uncle who emigrated to Duma before him. His wanderings reunite him with Miriana Grannoff, an exiled avant-garde artist who was once his teacher. Her memorial installations hidden around the city equally enchant and repel him. And gradually, they begin to reveal a Duma is not the workers’ paradise it pretends to be.