Description
Jared Cahill and Wynn Kang seem like the perfect couple. Even the woman at the airline counter, where they check-in for their flight to Cambodia to pick up their future daughter who is being carried by a surrogate, seems to recognize it: “I’m so happy that marriage is legal for you guys,” she says. But while Jared is already planning for their second child—half white like him, and half Korean like Wynn.
Wynn isn’t ready to give up his dreams of becoming a hip-hop dancer to become “the hostage of a crying, pooping terrorist.” So, he does what anyone in his position would do. He leaves Jared at the airport.
Told in alternating points of view, Wynn and Jared take readers on their messy tragi-comic journey, confronting the unresolved issues of race, identity, and privilege that haunt them, and facing the question of whether they will ever, finally, face themselves and grow up.
“A bold, outrageous, and often hilarious exploration of growing up while facing the ever-changing nature of queer identity and what it takes to feel alive.” —Steven Rowley, Thurber Prize-winning author of The Guncle
“Tom Pyun’s Something Close to Nothing is a candid, funny, and shocking dissection of the relationship between one of those gay couples that look perfect in their social media posts. You know them and somehow you don’t know them because they don’t truly know themselves. I just couldn’t put this book down once I started it. Something Close to Nothing delivers such an intimate portrait of a couple in crisis that I was pleading with the characters as I turned the pages. This is a mesmerizing debut novel. Pyun is writing about contemporary queer life with an honesty and depth that is astounding and welcomed. He cuts through the surface-level expectations and reaches the insecure core of his characters. With biting prose and tender precision, Pyun exposes the unspoken assumptions and the swallowed resentments that initially draw Wynn and Jared to one another. He examines how race, upbringing, and internalized homophobia can intertwine and shape relationships in ways we hardly ever want to acknowledge or discuss. Something Close to Nothing manages to be insightful without being pretentious. Pyun has a talent for hitting us with gut punches that turn into belly laughs.” —Rasheed Newson, author of My Government Means to Kill Me
“The story is delightfully unpredictable, sophisticated about the complexities of race and class, and a thoroughly entertaining read. Pyun is a gifted writer with a flair for balancing pathos and humor. His characters are flawed in interesting ways that simultaneously engender anger and the urge to root for them. It’s a fantastic debut.” —Toni Ann Johnson, author of Light Skin Gone to Waste and winner of the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction.
“Cringe, laugh, repeat: Tom Pyun has written a hilarious satire of a late-capitalist couple trying to have it all while resolutely never learning a damned thing about themselves. Infuriating, selfish, and totally lovable, Wynn and Jared trot around the globe in search of love while worrying if their crushes violate semiotics, and if their dancing is a form of cultural theft, all the while trying to convince themselves they aren’t so terrible (while often being so terrible). I saw myself in there more than I’d like to admit—what a wonderful ride!” —Glen David Gold, author of Carter Beats the Dev
“Something Close to Nothing is a journey of love and loss and ultimately choosing what you love to do over what is expected. In that way, it is a book about courage and determination. Wonderful writing, sensual and humorous, I couldn’t put it down!” — Louise Nayer, author of Burned, A Memoir and Narrow Escapes
“An engaging, globetrotting debut that captures the many highs and lows of creating the family of one’s dreams. Full of warmth, insight, and attention to complicated truths.” —Jung Yun, author of Shelter and O Beautiful
“Something Close to Nothing is outrageous, exhilarating, funny, upsetting, and open-hearted—I cried, I laughed, I cringed, I gasped. Tom Pyun writes with pitch-perfect wit and insight, upending the very contemporary pressures on young gay male couples to settle down and raise kids. As his yearning young heroes travel the globe searching for happiness and meaning, the reader rides an emotional roller coaster with them. This is a book you’re going to want to pass on to a friend so you can have someone to dish with when you’re done.” —K.M. Soehnlein, author of The World of Normal Boys and Army of Lovers
“Written with a contagious, full-throttle energy that hooked me from the first page, Something Close to Nothing is a fresh and spirited debut. Spanning decades and continents, this tale is equal parts intimate and comic, deftly shifting between character perspectives to insightfully unpack the buildup and breakdown of the love between two men in gripping detail. Tom Pyun infuses each twist and turn with wit and wisdom.” —Genevieve Hudson, author of Boys of Alabama and Pretend We Live Here
“Get ready for the drama and the humor, the sexiness and the sadness, some bad choices as well as some moments of kindness. Tom Pyun has created characters we come to care for despite their foibles and follies. Something Close To Nothing is a rich tapestry of family: how we make it and break it and re-create it.” —Tomas Moniz, author of All Friends Are Necessary
