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The Threat

By: Nathaniel Stein

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Hardcover | 16 January 2024 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Hardcover
194 Pages

Edition Type
New edition

Dimensions(cm)
21.5 x 13.9 x 1.42

Hardcover

RRP $40.69

$38.75

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"Mr. Melvin Levin, I'm going to kill you."

The Threat tells the darkly comic story of Melvin Levin, a middle-aged man who is dissatisfied with his dull and mediocre life. That is, until he receives a mysterious death threat in the mail. Terrified at first, Levin soon becomes accustomed to the threat-and then, increasingly, delighted with it, thrilled with his newfound importance as a "threatened man." But as his obsession with maintaining this identity becomes all-consuming, he risks blinding himself to the twin dangers of the threat itself and—perhaps worse—his own deranged mind.
At once absurdist, moving, and savagely funny, The Threat is a timeless parable of the comic lengths to which people go to protect the delusions that validate them.

Industry Reviews

"A comic masterpiece." -Andy Borowitz, New York Times-bestselling author of Profiles in Ignorance

“I savored every word of Nathaniel Stein's hilarious, expertly crafted, giddily uncompromising debut novel. The Threat is full of pathos—loneliness, alienation, existential horror. But Stein is such a deft comedic stylist that all I experienced while reading it was joy. It's a fantastic book and I hope he writes a million more.” —Simon Rich, Thurber Prize-winning author of New Teeth

"Nathaniel Stein has written a comic novel unlike anything that we have on hand recently: a small-scale exquisitist portrait of an improbable existence that has elements of both Kafka and Bruce Jay Friedman, and manages to be both appealingly absurd and strangely touching. A genuinely original book." —Adam Gopnik, New York Times-bestselling author of Paris to the Moon

"The Threat is a brilliant tour through one guy’s self-obsession as he desperately tries to stay alive while also deciding why and if he really wants to—a darkly hilarious mystery about a man who finally comes to life when someone threatens to kill him. A genuinely funny novel—the kind we need more of!" —Steve Hely, Thurber Prize-winning author of How I Became a Famous Novelist

“The Threat [is] absurd, hilarious, and quite touching. It’s my favorite book of the summer.” —Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic and former Editor-in-Chief of Wired

"New Yorker contributing humor writer Stein debuts with a darkly funny tale of a man’s unraveling after he receives an unprovoked death threat… Stein’s diverting story of self-aggrandizement is worth a look. —Publishers Weekly

"This debut is an enjoyable, easy recommendation to readers looking for a humorous escape.… An excellent addition to displays of quick, engaging reads. Fans of Less by Andrew Sean Greer will enjoy Stein's tongue-in-cheek writing style.” —Library Journal

“Stein's clever first novel will charm readers; its simple premise snowballs into a side-splitting, thought-provoking meditation on how one man's seemingly inconsequential life finally overflows with grandiose meaning when faced with the prospect of death.” —Kathleen Gerard,Shelf Awareness

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