The Way

Cary Groner

304 pages December 2024 Proofs in English Literary Fiction, Speculative Fiction

On behalf of: Spiegel & Grau

Blending Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance with Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven, this is the propulsive story of a battle-scarred survivor on a desperate, postapocalyptic road trip.

The world has been ravaged by a lethal virus and, with few exceptions, only the young have survived. Cities and infrastructures have been destroyed, and the natural world has reclaimed the landscape in surprising ways, with herds of wild camels roaming the American West and crocodiles that glow neon green lurking in the rivers.

Against this perilous backdrop, Will Collins, the de facto caretaker of a Buddhist monastery in Colorado, receives an urgent and mysterious request: to deliver a potential cure to a scientist in what was once California. So Will sets out, haunted by dreams of the woman he once loved, in a rusted-out pickup pulled by two mules. A menacing thug is on his tail. Armed militias patrol the roads. And the only way he’ll make it is with the help of a clever raven, an opinionated cat, and a tough teenage girl who has learned to survive on her own.

A highly original contribution to the canon of dystopian literature, The Way is a thrilling and imaginative novel, full of warmth, wisdom, and surprises that reflect our world in unsettling, uncanny, and even hopeful ways.

Reviews

“This novel reads like Cormac McCarthy’s The Road meets Robert M. Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.”—Library Journal (starred review)

“Groner paints a persuasive picture of his dystopian world, peopled with strong characters and driven by cinematic action.”—Publishers Weekly

“An ultimately hopeful vision of the aftermath of disaster.”—Kirkus