Name: In-Store: Lizzie Buehler: The Obsessed w/ Weike Wang
Start: 2026-07-29T19:00:00-04:00
End: 2026-07-29T20:00:00-04:00
Location: Books Are Magic Montague

$In-Store: Lizzie Buehler: The Obsessed w\/ Weike Wang$

"The perfect read for anyone who finds it easier to understand a book than a person." —Caitlin Barasch, author of A Novel Obsession
About this Event

Event guidelines:

Each ticket will include either a copy of the featured book or a $10 Books Are Magic gift card.
Additional copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event.
A signing will follow the talk.
Home address is collected for contact tracing purposes; it will not be used otherwise.
The event will also be livestreamed for free here: https://youtube.com/live/Z1OqfjGNatw
As a reminder: If you are not feeling well, please do not come to the event, even if you have a ticket; email us and we'll work it out.

If you have any questions regarding these guidelines or to request accessibility accommodations, please contact [email protected].

A wildly endearing coming-of-age story and "offbeat tale of obsession" (Caitlin Barasch), following one young woman who reenacts the love plot of her favorite novel only to find herself flailing when she enters a relationship with a fellow literary obsessive.

Astrid is obsessed with Russian American novelist Sofiya Sova, whose life trajectory serendipitously parallels Astrid’s own and whose writing seems to encompass every anxious thought Astrid has ever had. Desperate to find the purpose she’s always craved, Astrid begins her PhD program hoping to fully embody the ethos of Sofiya Sova's novel.

But when Astrid’s long-term boyfriend, Charlie, breaks up with her after moving to Japan, and a spontaneous Hinge date connects her with a fellow Sofiya Sova obsessive named Elijah, Astrid quickly finds herself transcribing the love plot of her favorite Sofiya Sova novel onto her own life . . . until one day, Elijah begins to pull away and Astrid is left flailing in a life scaffolded by obsession.

A bighearted portrait of the anxieties of desire, The Obsessed explores the trials of modern dating, the strange ennui of academia, and the question of how to create a world for yourself within and without the confines of your influences. What we’re left with is a striking portrayal of how a willing reader can bring a text to life, and similarly the animating power of a good novel.

Lizzie Buehler is the translator of The Disaster Tourist (winner of the CWA Dagger for crime fiction in translation), Art on Fire, and Table for One by Yun Ko-eun, and Korean Teachers by Seo Su-jin. She holds an MFA in literary translation from the University of Iowa and has studied comparative literature at Harvard and Princeton. The Obsessed is her debut novel.

Weike Wang is the author of Chemistry, Joan is Okay, and Rental House. She is the recipient of a Pen Hemingway, a Whiting award and a National Book Foundation 5 under 35. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Harper’s Magazine, Best American Short Stories and has won two O. Henry Prizes. She currently lives in New York City and teaches at the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, Barnard College and Boston University.