In this devastatingly withering follow-up to 2014's Wittgenstein Jr., Iyer turns his keen eye and sharp sense of humor to the suburbs. There's a new boy in the London suburb of Wokingham, recently transferred from a posh private school after he lost his scholarship. He's taken in by his new high school's resident group of misfit creative types, who name him Nietzsche, after his pseudo-deep blog and the giant NIHILISM scrawled across his notebook. Though one of the misfits, Chandra, an Indian boy with creative writing ambitions, is technically the narrator, the novel is written from a plural first-person perspective that folds together Chandra's voice with those of his friends, all of whom are deeply devoted to two things: their death metal band and cynicism. Nietzsche, then, is the perfect lead singer for a band that makes "the music that comes after music. Fucking ghost music, man." Despite their cynicism and aversion to any platitudes, the nihilist heroes discover the sincere thrill of being young in high school, as they run through a gamut of heartbreaking, hilarious, and exhilarating experiences with love, drugs, and the immediate and terminal future. The individual characters tend to get lost in Iyer's dense narration, and they are occasionally too clever for cleverness's sake. But readers will be endeared by Iyer's skillful portrayal of their deep tenderness and uncertainty despite it all, even if they'd hate for readers to know it. (Dec.)

Paula, Art, Merv, and Chandra a coterie of sixth-formers in a British secondary school, would-be nihilists in training wheels. When they discover the new boy in school is himself a nihilist, a philosopher manqué, they quickly adopt him, dubbing him Nietzsche, inviting him to join their band as singer, and naming the band Nietzsche and the Burbs. Ah, the burbs, the focus of their sneering attention, their cynicism, their conviction that, though they might escape them temporarily, they will ultimately wind up back in their clutches. Their story, which takes place over the course of 10 weeks, is narrated by Chandra in a vaguely stream-of-consciousness voice replete with sentence fragments, omnipresent snippets of burbs philosophy, and extended conversation among the coterie. Nietzsche himself has little to say except for his pithy blog posts: e.g., Perpetual imminence. Eventless events. Nothing happening except for this nothing is happening. What is the book about? The kids' quotidian school life, the occasional party, drinking, and Nietzsche the real one, not the intriguing imitation. The limited action leads up to a denouement: an actual public performance by the band. Does it go well? Let's just say readers won't be surprised by the answer. How closely fictional Nietzsche is meant to resemble the real thing is moot except for the fact that the fictional one has gone off his meds. Uh-oh. Some readers may find the often-allusive book too clever by half; others will delight in its wit. In either case, the book is a model of originality. Clever, indeed.--Michael Cart Copyright 2019 Booklist