Moderation by Elaine Castillo
Sometimes people just...click.
'Wonderful'
Kaliane Bradley, author of The Ministry of Time
'A literary firecracker'
Pandora Sykes, Books and Bits
'Brilliant'
Elle
Thirty-something Girlie Delmundo works a day job as a content moderator, removing the very worst that makes it on to the internet. She's one of the best at it, too, so it's no surprise when she's given a big salary rise to start moderating its new venture: virtual-reality theme parks, lush simulations of civilizations long since dead.
But as she begins to explore the intricate worlds that she moderates, Girlie notices two deeply troubling things: that there might be something much darker built into the very code of the company, and that William, technically her new boss, a man whose barriers are as mighty as her own, might just be that long-forgotten thing... Girlie's type.
Moderation is a novel that refuses to do things by halvesIt is a piercing, laser-precise exploration of big tech... breathtakingly funny...and a highly charged, passionate and tender love story. A wonderful book. * Kaliane Bradley, author of The Ministry of Time *
Castillo is a literary firecracker... Reading her is like pressing your finger on a bruise just to feel the thrill. If you liked Gabrielle Zevin's Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and/or The Circle by Dave Eggers, you'll like this * Pandora Sykes, Books and Bits *
Tender and cutting, engrossing and immediate-Elaine Castillo's Moderation is a moving meditation on connection, growth, and how, in a world that's constantly on the verge of ending, one way we move forward is cultivating our own. Castillo's prose is luminous and lucid, balancing humor and emotion with wicked aplomb. Castillo expertly stretches the possibilities of language; Moderation is infinite. * Bryan Washington, author of Family Meal *
With its unyielding density of sharply observed detail, high-resolution psychological drama, and driving narrative momentum, Moderation reminded me that the novel is still the best form of virtual reality we have * Jenny Odell, author of Saving Time *
Phenomenal. A blisteringly funny critique of big tech, and an amazing love story too * Susan Barker, author of Old Soul *
Masterful...Castillo shifts seamlessly in scale and tone, from a wide-angled systems novel to a love story, and from barbed satire to staggering emotional depth. It's a triumph. * Publishers Weekly *starred review* *
With this novel...Castillo raises the bar for writing about tech and virtual reality, family stories, and workplace romances...A brilliant novel with much to say about work, family, excess, identity, and love * Kirkus *starred review* *
Slyly brilliant... Castillo again proves to be an enviably erudite chronicler of (racist) history, power structures, identity politics, and socioeconomic inequities * Booklist *starred review* *
Pick up the novel everyone will be talking about...Her new boss, William, also happens to be a total stud, and his presence transforms Castillo's flinty satire of the tech industry into a sultry romance novel * The Atlantic *
Biting... Castillo explores the wonders and limitations of technology while skewering its stewards' appetite for power * New Yorker *
Elaine Castillo's wicked send-up of Silicon Valley skewers overlords and gatekeepers, probing schisms of race and class and daring us to salvage our humanity in a world where machines are on the march -- Hamilton Cain * TIME *
A 'Pride and Prejudice' for the chronically online... Castillo's close third-person narration, and her unerring ear for social performance, make for a novel that is often baroquely funny, full of barbed observations that detonate like precision-guided bombs * The New York Times Book Review *
Castillo is a writer of razor-sharp acuity who takes seriously the sinister instrumentalisation of storytelling, in a world increasingly veering right. * Guardian *
Castillo is a literary firecracker... Reading her is like pressing your finger on a bruise just to feel the thrill. If you liked Gabrielle Zevin's Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and/or The Circle by Dave Eggers, you'll like this * Pandora Sykes, Books and Bits *
Tender and cutting, engrossing and immediate-Elaine Castillo's Moderation is a moving meditation on connection, growth, and how, in a world that's constantly on the verge of ending, one way we move forward is cultivating our own. Castillo's prose is luminous and lucid, balancing humor and emotion with wicked aplomb. Castillo expertly stretches the possibilities of language; Moderation is infinite. * Bryan Washington, author of Family Meal *
With its unyielding density of sharply observed detail, high-resolution psychological drama, and driving narrative momentum, Moderation reminded me that the novel is still the best form of virtual reality we have * Jenny Odell, author of Saving Time *
Phenomenal. A blisteringly funny critique of big tech, and an amazing love story too * Susan Barker, author of Old Soul *
Masterful...Castillo shifts seamlessly in scale and tone, from a wide-angled systems novel to a love story, and from barbed satire to staggering emotional depth. It's a triumph. * Publishers Weekly *starred review* *
With this novel...Castillo raises the bar for writing about tech and virtual reality, family stories, and workplace romances...A brilliant novel with much to say about work, family, excess, identity, and love * Kirkus *starred review* *
Slyly brilliant... Castillo again proves to be an enviably erudite chronicler of (racist) history, power structures, identity politics, and socioeconomic inequities * Booklist *starred review* *
Pick up the novel everyone will be talking about...Her new boss, William, also happens to be a total stud, and his presence transforms Castillo's flinty satire of the tech industry into a sultry romance novel * The Atlantic *
Biting... Castillo explores the wonders and limitations of technology while skewering its stewards' appetite for power * New Yorker *
Elaine Castillo's wicked send-up of Silicon Valley skewers overlords and gatekeepers, probing schisms of race and class and daring us to salvage our humanity in a world where machines are on the march -- Hamilton Cain * TIME *
A 'Pride and Prejudice' for the chronically online... Castillo's close third-person narration, and her unerring ear for social performance, make for a novel that is often baroquely funny, full of barbed observations that detonate like precision-guided bombs * The New York Times Book Review *
Castillo is a writer of razor-sharp acuity who takes seriously the sinister instrumentalisation of storytelling, in a world increasingly veering right. * Guardian *
Named one of '30 of the planet's most exciting young people' by the Financial Times, Elaine Castillo was born and raised in the Bay Area. Her debut novel America Is Not the Heart was named one of the best books of 2018 by NPR, San Francisco Chronicle, The New York Public Library, The New York Post, The Boston Globe, Real Simple, Lit Hub, and has been nominated for the Elle Award, the Center for Fiction Prize, the Aspen Words Prize, the Northern California Independent Booksellers Book Award, and the California Book Award.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781838954994 |
| ISBN 10 | 1838954996 |
| Title | Moderation |
| Author | Elaine Castillo |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Atlantic Books |
| Year published | 2026-06-04 |
| Number of pages | 320 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |