The Deep Whatsis

Meet Eric Nye: hipster, player, philosopher, drunk, sociopath. A ruthless, young Chief Idea Officer at a New York City–based ad agency, Eric is in charge of downsizing his department, which entails firing dozens of long-time employees before their pensions kick in. In his free time, he guzzles the finest Sancerre, balances a hodgepodge of prescription pills, obsesses over his lavish furnishings and chases women.

One day, he meets Intern, whose name he can’t remember—it might be Megan or Caitlin or Sari—at a bar in Bushwick. After a few drunken sexual encounters with her, he loses his appetite for food—and seems to be losing his mind, too. Is she in love with him, or is she stalking him? Will she be the cause of his downfall or the cure for his sociopathic tendencies?

A timely meditation on the inherent absurdity of corporatism and our ubiquitous culture of branding, The Deep Whatsis follows a brilliant anti-hero’s quest for contemporary self-identity, with echoes of American Psycho, Cosmopolis and Fight Club.