A dystopian novel set in near future New York, where life expectancy averages three hundred years and the pursuit of immortality has become all-consuming
SUICIDE CLUB
by Rachel Heng
Holt, TBA
Agent: United Talent
Lea is a high-flying kidney trader at New York’s largest hedge fund who has it all – money, fiancé and the perfect genetic code. She is a Lifer – one of the blessed few destined for immortality, eligible for all the state-sponsored life extension treatments that the Ministry can offer. But when Lea gets into a mysterious car accident and a dark childhood secret surfaces, she finds herself on the Observation List, suspected of not having the requisite temperament for immortality after all.
When Lea meets Anja at a group therapy session, she is drawn into the world of Suicide Club, an outlawed activist group fighting for the right to die. And when her estranged father reappears in her life, she starts to question everything. SUICIDE CLUB is a story of family, forgiveness, and what it means to really live.
Comparable to STATION ELEVEN with shades of Margaret Atwood and George Saunders – or Gattaca meets Minority Report, this is an exceptional debut by a hugely talented writer.
Rachel Heng’s short fiction has won Prairie Schooner’s Jane Geske Award and was recently nominated for the Pushcart Prize. An extract from SUICIDE CLUB was included in the Huffington Post’s « 15 Stellar Short Stories You Can Read Online » list. Rachel was born in Singapore and now lives in London, where she works in the finance sector. She graduated from Columbia University in the City of New York with a BA in Comparative Literature & Society and Economics. Rachel can be found online at www.rachelhengqp.com, or on Twitter @rachelhengqp.