The novel kicks into its best form once Zachary’s life comes crashing down on him. Seidlinger is then left with lots of existential questions to answer. Luckily, these don’t get deflected, nor do they get big general sweeping answers, but they are discussed. The novel bounces back and forth between wonderfully written and providing answers to the questions that people are afraid to ask. Ultimately, with The Strangest, Seidlinger may have not just written his best work yet, but proven that in an industry lacking originality, even works that do spin off others can be bursting with so much promise and talent that we want this strange to become familiar.

Seidlinger has written one of the most interesting novels about the lack of identity in the 21st century for a long time. It’s a novel that’s uncompromising with its ambition, and there’s no reason it should be. What could have been a gamble turns out to be a grand success, and Seidlinger shows that he’s not just causing waves in the indie lit scene, but any lit scene.

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