Homebound: A Novel

Homebound: A Novel

Five lives are entangled across time by one story of survival and hope, uploaded to a floppy disk in the 1980s and destined to ripple across the centuries... “A joy—at once a gripping mystery that confidently spans centuries, and a hauntingly beautiful exploration of what makes us human...It kept me up all night!” —Madeline Miller, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Circe and Song of Achilles It’s 1983 and Becks can’t wait to get the hell out of Cincinnati. She’s nineteen, blasting her Walkman, and hiding from the fact that her beloved uncle, the only person who understood her, is dead. But she has work to do: he left her a half-finished game to complete—one last collaboration to find her way out of loneliness. Little does she know, what Becks is making will echo far into the future and shape the lives of a scientist, a sentient automaton, and a flinty sea captain in ways she cannot imagine. All are bound together by their search for connection—and by a futuristic traveler on a mysterious mission through space. A novel about our deep interconnectedness, Homebound is a clear-eyed, hopeful adventure into humanity’s future and capacity for love. "In Portia Elan’s capable hands, Homebound brings its readers to the future through different perspectives, stories, forms, to grapple with the meaning of love and interconnectedness." — Town & Country , Best Books of Spring "Magnificent... A marvel." — Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Elan deftly knots these threads together, gradually revealing layered stories about queer love and loss, making peace with one’s mistakes, and finding a path through obstacles outside your control... Like Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven , Homebound portrays a plausible, forlorn version of the future, one that’s tied to the past through the staying power of stories." — Booklist (starred review) “An ingenious narrative that explores the meaning of love and interconnectedness across time.” — Kirkus (starred review) "The magic of Elan’s novel is the fact that as it unfolds, the story of Homebound the game is unfolding too, linking readers of Elan’s book with the fictional readers within it... A gift to readers." — Library Journal (starred review) "What a pleasure it was to read this book. Homebound ’s radiant heart and the sure-footed clarity of Elan’s prose seduced me from the first page. It's the kind of scope and pleasure that, forgive me for using the shorthand of comparison, reminds me of the novels of Emily St. John Mandel and Daniel Mason." —KELLY LINK, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of The Book of Love “ Homebound is a big, bold, ecstatic world—full of heart and wonder—where stories weave through time to connect us, and our faith in each other makes us human.” —RUTH OZEKI, New York Times bestselling author of A Tale for the Time Being and The Book of Form and Emptiness "A novel to get lost in, Homebound is deeply felt, deftly crafted and beautifully written. A story of friendship and family, of hope and invention and love. An inspiring debut.” —CHARLES YU, National Book Award Winner for Interior Chinatown “A fascinatingly plausible and atmospheric story of a future shaped by tech and love intertwined.” —EMMA DONOGHUE, #1 bestselling author of The Paris Express “ Homebound is a joy—at once a gripping mystery that confidently spans centuries, and a hauntingly beautiful exploration of what makes us human. Inventive and gritty, powerful and clear-eyed, it kept me up all night!” —MADELINE MILLER, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Circe and The Song of Achilles "A sparkling novel, a work of joyous and serious invention that moves fluidly between forms—text-based computer game, coming-of-age story, sea adventure—that is also profoundly attentive to the concept of home as something portable, created by family (born and chosen), storytelling and solidarity." —KALIANE BRADLEY, New York Times bestselling author of The Ministry of Time “ Homebound 's multiple narratives gloriously span centuries into the future to chart the voyages people take to find connection and community. Portia Elan’s ingenious novel is a puzzle-story, a nostalgic ode to 80s video games and punk rock, and a speculative look into the ways technology has reshaped longing. You need to read it!" —KEVIN CHONG, Giller Prize-shortlisted author of The Double Life of Benson Yu "Inventive and full of feeling. New insight into queerness and computer games unlocked." — MAGGIE THRASH, author of Rainbow Black " Homebound is the most original and arresting novel I’ve read in a very long time. Elan has created a century-spanning epic that’s also an utterly intimate story of love, loss, and found family. What a joy; what a marvel." —ANNA NORTH, New York Times bestselling author of Outlawed and Bog Queen Portia Elan studied history at Stanford University and earned an MFA from the Unive