New Waves

A Novel

By: Kevin Nguyen

Narrated by: James Chen, Adenrele Ojo, Allyson Ryan

A wry and poignant debut novel about a man’s search for true connection that is “both knowing and cutting, a satire of internet culture that is also a moving portrait of a lost human being” (Los Angeles Times).

“A knowing and thought-provoking exploration of love, modern isolation, and what it means to exist—especially as a person of color—in our increasingly digital age.”—Celeste Ng, bestselling author of Everything I Never Told You and Little Fires Everywhere

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR—NPR, The New York Public Library, Parade, Kirkus Reviews

Lucas and Margo are fed up. Margo is a brilliant programmer tired of being talked over as the company’s sole black employee, and while Lucas is one of many Asians at the firm, he’s nearly invisible as a low-paid customer service rep. Together, they decide to steal their tech startup’s user database in an attempt at revenge. The heist takes a sudden turn when Margo dies in a car accident, and Lucas is left reeling, wondering what to do with their secret—and wondering whether her death really was an accident. When Lucas hacks into Margo’s computer looking for answers, he is drawn into her private online life and realizes just how little he knew about his best friend.

With a fresh voice, biting humor, and piercing observations about human nature, Kevin Nguyen brings an insider’s knowledge of the tech industry to this imaginative novel. A pitch-perfect exploration of race and startup culture, secrecy and surveillance, social media and friendship, New Waves asks: How well do we really know one another? And how do we form true intimacy and connection in a tech-obsessed world?

Praise for New Waves

“Nguyen’s stellar debut is a piercing assessment of young adulthood, the tech industry, and racism. . . . Nguyen impressively holds together his overlapping plot threads while providing incisive criticism of privilege and a dose of sharp humor. The story is fast-paced and fascinating, but also deeply felt; the effect is a page-turner with some serious bite.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A blistering sendup of startup culture and a sprawling, ambitious, tender debut.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

©2020 Kevin Nguyen (P)2020 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“[New Waves] cleverly conjures a modern Gatsby-and-Nick-Carraway dynamic between the narrator, Lucas, and his co-worker Margo. . . . [Kevin Nguyen] captures beautifully the subtle strains of being disenfranchised, poor and lonely in New York.”—The New York Times Book Review

“A brilliant meditation on death and grief in the age of the internet. New Waves is full of modern noise and complicated love. Its prismatic, futuristic take onrace and identity are a thrill to read. The book is funny and sad in equal measure, inventive, self-aware, full of insight, but also entirely enjoyable.”—Tommy Orange, author of There There

“E.M. Forster’s mandate was to ‘only connect.’ Kevin Nguyen shows us that in our brave new digital world, the best way to do that might be to disconnect. The result is New Waves, a sleek, stylish novel that weaves between disaffection and desire.”—Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Sympathizer

not bad, but not what I was expecting

The book summary made me expect a mystery, that the central plot of the novel would be the question of what caused Margo's death. The book is actually about Lucas's life after he loses his friend. It mainly focuses on the culture of the tech industry, the struggles of young adulthood, and different aspects of racism. I think the book explored these topics in a mature and nuanced way, so if you are looking for a book that examines these types of societal questions, this would be a good choice. For me, it was not a bad read, but the lack of a strong plot to move the story forward meant that parts of the book dragged a little.

Too Confusing

There were too many storylines/characters that kept changing back and forth. You never knew when they were connected, or if they were connected. Sometimes authors should not be the narrator on an audible book. I finished it, but still really don't know how the story/characters come together to make sense.