The Default World

"“Both incisive and sincere, The Default World exposes the hidden transactional dynamics within progressive social circles via a quest for belonging, love, and security.” —Foreword Reviews, starred review  “The Default World is the best sort of novel, one where you fall in love with every one of the tragic, flawed characters, all of them in the midst of great change. And one which ends, as all novels probably should, with an apocalyptic, disastrous sex party! I loved reading this book not only for its story and characters but because it felt deeply honest to me. I was immersed in its world, and recommend it to everyone.” —Matthew Zapruder, author of Story of a Poem “Naomi Kanakia’s tour de force novel of a trans adventuress among the tech elite is a beautiful cis nightmare in the mold of Manhunt and Tell Me I’m Worthless, ripping off bandage after bandage around body politics and the belief that money and dreams can reshape how we treat each other. The questions her unforgettable antiheroine Jhanvi asks—and the conversations on friendship and what it asks of us that this sparkling, often brutal book will start—are worth your attention.” —Jeanne Thornton, author of Summer Fun ""This fierce, fearless, and unflinching novel interrogates who we are and what we want. How do we know who we are among an onslaught of identities? And if we don’t know who we are, how can we know what we want? Naomi Kanakia’s unexpectedly tender conclusion is that the truth is in kindness, in closeness, in feeling."" —Taymour Soomro, author of Other Names for Love “Bananas, grody, uninhibited, histrionic, mortifying, funny, and awful. As a satire of contemporary tech-bro burner hippiedom, it’s a riot. As a dissection of what it costs to make it as a trans woman in a dude’s world, it’s harrowing.” —Cat Fitzpatrick, author of The Call-Out ""The Default World is the wild, often hilarious and troubling story of Jhanvi, an angry, witty trans woman who tells it like it is. She’s entitled, demanding, outrageous, funny, careening, an extremely entertaining and sometimes horrible person who I can’t help loving and rooting for."" —Matthew Klam, author of Sam the Cat ""The Default World takes a scalpel to constructed myths of joy, allyship, and solidarity within and surrounding queer communities, exposing with unwavering scrutiny the messy networks of insecurity and vulnerability that hum and throb through trans lives and experiences. A heady mixture of satire, exposé, and hard truth-telling."" —Bishakh Som, author of Apsara Engine"