A bearded man in a badly soiled suit known only as The Stranger wanders an apocalyptic landscape on the fringes of a dying metropolis, looking for a way to "get back on top." Thwarted and rejected at every turn by old friends and strangers alike, even by the author of this novel, whom he visits repeatedly in unsuccessful attempts to determine his own narrative, his impotence and rage are expressed in acts of seemingly senseless violence. The various characters he encounters on his journey, a pack of sadistic boys, skinheads who beat him senseless, a deaf-mute woman who tries to heal him, a sidewalk preacher, and a deranged man who identifies him as The One, avoid or abuse him, or attempt to follow him. Entertaining, disturbing, and wildly intelligent, written with sinister humor and great compassion, Ether reflects on the possibilities and consequences of forgiveness, the problems of faith, and the trials of creation.
"This is an intense, intelligent novel that paints a vivid picture of an America that most of us refuse to see, are afraid to see. This is real art."
Percival Everett, author of I Am Not Sidney Poitier
"Like a David Lynch movie transcribed by Pierre Reverdy, it's a brilliant and unforgettable book, written somewhere between sleeping and waking."
Chris Kraus, author of Torpor
"A book that's both pure as snow and filthy as dirty, with the lovely detachment of ice. Like Beckett, Ehrenreich has the talent of being particular and general at once, and thus steps outside of time."
Lydia Millet, Pulitzer Prize finalist for Love in Infant Monkeys
