★ 03/16/2015
Wrapped in the form of pseudohistorical, multilayered investigative journalism full of footnotes from a skewed world that resembles our own, columnist Disabato’s first novel is a paean to the modern urban landscape. In it she relishes questions about pop culture’s relationship to intellectual culture jamming, the persistence of the ephemeral under the gaze of the obsessed, and the secrets behind public personas and public transportation. Equal parts unfolding suspense and literary treasure hunt, Disabato’s document claims to be her completion of journalist Cyrus Archer’s abandoned investigation of the search for Molly Metropolis, a rising pop music diva who disappears suddenly in Chicago while on tour at the height of her popularity. Archer’s interviews reveal the story of music journalist Cait Taer, who seeks out Gina Nix, her old friend and Molly’s personal assistant, after Molly vanishes. Together they discover Molly’s secret notebook and solicit the aid of her Molly’s dangerous friend, Nick Berliner, in their search. Archer traces the mystery through journals, maps, and interviews—and underground into the B-sides of personality and art. The net effect is simultaneously breathlessly exhilarating and beautifully haunted. (May)
A smart and thorny debut novel... Truly contemporary... The Ghost Network presents the maze of modern culture with all its dead ends and truncations, but reveals treasure to those who walk the path."
—New York Times Book Review
“A nerve-jangling mash-up of conspiracy theories and ingeniously plotted existential mystery."
—O, the Oprah Magazine, The Season's Best
“Ambitious, digressive and occasionally overstuffed, The Ghost Network is a rewarding read — in other words, it's a rabbit hole well worth falling down."
—Chicago Tribune
“[An] engaging debut novel."
—San Francisco Chronicle
“A high-energy, pop meta-mystery."
—Boston Globe, Summer Reading Picks
“A debut novel that is as carefully structured as it is ambitiously inventive."
—Los Angeles Magazine, 6 Books You Need to Read This May
“Suspenseful, conspiratorial, digressive... This wildly inventive, remarkably assured debut is entirely Disabato’s own."
—Globe and Mail (Canada)
“A bumpy, challenging narrative ride, one that’s worth taking until the end of the line."
—KQED, Beach Reads for Rebels
“A perceptive look at celebrity and personal branding in the digital age… The Ghost Network, like a great pop song, is an intricate system and a lavish spectacle at the same time."
—Chicago Reader
“This novel toys with and ultimately subverts all the conventions of its genre, and is as smart and funny as it is compelling."
—Brooklyn Magazine
“Excellent... Throughout the fanciful plot there’s something so vividly current about Disabato’s characters...that she is revealed to be a keen and trustworthy observer of the habits of the young."
—Slate
“Ambitious and imaginative, The Ghost Network seamlessly blends pop culture and conspiracy theory and philosophy."
—BuzzFeed, 17 Awesome New Books You Need To Read This Summer
“Prepare to be amazed… The Ghost Network is an enthralling participatory experience, at once an erudite mystery and a complex investigation on the dark side of fame and fandom."
—Bustle
“It’s exciting to read a novel with so much ambition in its construction, but one that is simultaneously concerned with a topic like the relationship between a female pop star and her fans, elevating 'girl' culture to its rightful status as a matter for thoughtful literary inquiry."
—Flavorwire, Staff Picks
“[Disabato's] writing is contemporary, and the book is not shy about carving out its very specific niche in time, but this book is destined to become a new classic… The Ghost Network has just the right balance of romance, mystery, and social commentary."
—Book Riot, The Best Books of 2015
“Few first novels have ever felt so confident, ambitious, idiosyncratic, and carefully composed... Disabato may be a fresh face in the literary world, but her style and schemes triumph over those of many seasoned scribes... The Ghost Network earns its place alongside some of the best modern mysteries."
—PopMatters
“A layered and twisted trip through the real and fictional, pop and political, that sparks brightly when those worlds intersect... The Ghost Network finds signs of life in unexpected places."
—Lambda Literary
“[An] innovative and troubling debut novel."
—Los Angeles Review of Books
“I could not put it down... Totally fun and different."
—Rachael Berkey, Nerdist, All the Books You Need to Read This Summer
“[Disabato's] writing is contemporary, and the book is not shy about carving out its very specific niche in time, but this book is destined to become a new classic... The Ghost Network has just the right balance of romance, mystery, and social commentary."
—Book Riot, Best Books of 2015
“It works because it really commits to its faux true crime conceit. The Ghost Network is high concept but…unpretentious."
—Oyster Review
“A thinking reader’s thriller... It’s clever, complex and glitters with fantastic flights of imagination, and Disabato is an exciting young writer to watch."
—Lectito
“A terrific debut novel, one that fires on all cylinders... Pop music, psychogeography, kinky sex stuff - this book has it all and has fun with all of it."
—The Next Best Book Club
“Fascinating."
—Metapsychology Online Reviews
“Ingeniously combines fact and fiction... As gripping as it is clever, it's both a treatise on modern celebrity and a thriller for the thinking man or woman."
—The Independent (UK)
“A paean to the modern urban landscape... Simultaneously breathlessly exhilarating and beautifully haunted."
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“A thrilling debut novel... Ultimately, the novel, with its intricate structure and agile pacing, adds up to a layered, well-executed story within an inventive story. Artistic ambition, cultural critique, and a revolutionary philosophy drive the mysteries underlying this complex, charismatic novel."
—Kirkus Reviews
“Brilliant, daring, and masterful . . . Impossible to put down.”
—Edan Lepucki, New York Times bestselling author of California
“A high-concept mystery that looks to be a lot of fun."
—The Millions, Most Anticipated Books of 2015
“It looks like a thrilling read."
—Masters Review, Fifteen Books We’re Looking Forward to This Year
"A giddy mashup of pop culture, genre-tropes, conspiracy theories and dystopian fantasy. Imagine Thomas Pynchon possessed by the spirit of a teenaged girl who is binge-watching TMZ while shrooming out of her mind, and you get some idea of the layered, phantasmagoric effect of this wonderfully trippy book. Catie Disabato is a true original, and a young writer to watch."
—Dan Chaon, author of Await Your Reply
“As close as we’ll ever get to Borges filtering Lady Gaga, Calvino analyzing Miley Cyrus, or Cortazaar obsessing over FKA Twigs, the supremely talented Disabato gives us a synthwave pop illuminati fantasy that will make your ears ring.”
—Maxwell Neely-Cohen, author of Echo of the Boom
“Catie Disabato's prose is as clean as a whistle and as sharp as a tack, and her imagination is wondrous. A smart and exciting debut that plays by its own rules."
—Ivy Pochoda, author of Visitation Street
“Spectacularly original. Meta, ingenious, and totally fun."
—Kate Durbin, author of E! Entertainment
05/01/2015
Victims in Chicago are little more than statistics for the rest of the country. When famous, ostentatious pop star Molly Metropolis, or "Metro," goes missing, however, the world takes notice. Journalist Cyrus Archer finds links between Molly's disappearance and that of another young woman, Caitlin Taer, and subsequently vanishes himself. He sends all of his journals, interviews, and research documents about the cases to former student Catie Disabato who then continues Archer's quest to find the pop star and Taer. Disabato includes footnotes to detail her own conclusions and opinions as she polishes and produces Archer's complete research. Betrayal, lust, violence, and conspiracy enshroud the disappearances, but will the question be answered: Where is Molly Metropolis? This debut novel is both ambitious and methodical in its metafictional techniques; the journalistic-style prose adds originality but may be off-putting to some readers. In this smart read that also feels like a well-written crime novel, the intense combination of researched information and creative input sets this title apart from more commercial fare. VERDICT Adventurous readers and mystery fans looking for something different will enjoy discovering a new writer. [See "New LGBT Fiction: Titles To Consider Before June, LGBT Pride Month," LJ 4/1/15.—Ed.]—Jennifer Funk, McKendree Univ. Lib., Lebanon, IL
2015-03-04
A probing investigation into the disappearance of a rising pop star and the subsequent death of an obsessive fan goes awry in this thrilling debut novel.Journalist Cyrus Archer is in dogged pursuit of the connection among a 1960s anarchist political sect known as the Situationists, a map of a hypothetical transit system underneath Chicago named the Ghost Network, and the disappearances of singing sensation Molly Metropolis and her assistant's lover, Caitlyn Taer. For 15 months, armed with a collage of newspaper articles, interviews, computer files, and journals, Archer attempts to reconstruct the months preceding Molly's and Taer's mysterious fates. He makes several interesting discoveries, but it's hard to tell what he thinks: is he surprised? Is he fascinated or horrified? His voice feels monotonous for someone who's trying to solve a mystery. Then he suddenly disappears himself, leaving his unfinished manuscript to "Catie Disabato," his former writing student, who cleverly inserts herself into the text to verify his research, add her own footnotes, and, though she's conflicted about it, finish his book: "I had begun to face the reality that putting my name on this book would be the end of something for me….What is my role in the narrative supposed to be?" Disabato's engaging, robust voice, though scarce, revives the tale. Ultimately, the novel, with its intricate structure and agile pacing, adds up to a layered, well-executed story within an inventive story. Artistic ambition, cultural critique, and a revolutionary philosophy drive the mysteries underlying this complex, charismatic novel.