Gag

One rainy afternoon in a Brooklyn diner, Peter Howland punctures an egg with his fork. Undercooked, the egg oozes a thick, snot-like goo; repulsed, Peter pushes the plate away and never eats again. Fifteen years later, feeling as fit as the first foodless day over a decade ago, he heads to Paris, arguably the gastronomic center of the universe, to have another go at food. Enter, Dallas Foster, a mysterious individual who leaves a dramatic and unshakable impact on Peter's life. An offbeat, incisive observation of the ways in which we thrash into and cling onto each other; bursting with vivid dialogue, intricately painted characters and a breathtaking plot, Gag is a fantastically written portrait of two strangers entangled in the most curious of relationships. This inventive novel wanders down unexpected avenues and uncovers the darkest corners of both its characters and the serpentine city in which they converge.

Unger's Kafka-esque tale sweeps from Brooklyn to Paris to points Beyond, into a strange new world which grows stranger by the page. -- Charles Graeber, author of The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder Gag is a delectably twisted version of the American-in-Paris story; a tale of hurt, loss, redemption and love, where damaged people collide... The plot careens from one surprising turn to another, keeping the reader enthralled until the last, crazy, heartbreaking page. -- Mira Kamdar, author of Motiba's Tattoos Melissa Unger is an important new voice in modern fiction... She picks up where Camus left off ... her work is astonishing both in its nod to the history of literature and in its incredible originality. Read this and be amazed. -- Stacy London, Co-host of What Not to Wear; author of The Truth About Style Gag is the most unsettling and unexpected of Parisian love stories. It examines two characters whose secrets bind them together rather then keep them apart. I was unable to put Gag down with its Martin Amis like acerbic wit and constantly surprising turn of events. It's a sour little morsel, but one you can't help but devour. -- Christina Wayne, CEO, Assembly Entertainment; television producer and executive: Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Copper and Broken Trail.

Melissa Unger is a writer, creative consultant and the founder of Seymour Projects. She has spent the past 25 years working with individuals and organizations from a wide variety of creative fields. She currently resides in Paris, France.