If you liked what Primary Colors did to politics, you might want to check out a new book that’s trying to bring the same biting satire—and anonymous byline—to Silicon Valley.
The story, called Iterating Grace, had previously been handed out to various players in the nation’s tech hub who didn’t know if it was a real book or some sort of gimmick. Now it has a publisher.
Who wrote the book, and what his or her intentions are, is still unknown. But it will soon be available to a lot more readers—publisher Farrar, Straus & Giroux will be printing 10,000 paperback copies of the volume, which includes novelties like handwritten versions of real Tweets from some of Silicon Valley’s most powerful investors.
The story of the book is equally surreal. It features a disillusioned programmer named Koons Crooks who goes on a vision quest of sorts, thinks a lot about Tweets from venture capitalists, and ends up being trampled to death, according to the New York Times.
The Times speculates on who could have written it:
Theories and accusations ricocheted around social media as readers debated who was behind the elaborate stunt. Prime suspects included the novelists Dave Eggers and Joshua Cohen, who have both written sharply satirical novels about Silicon Valley, as well as Po Bronson, Susan Orlean and Robin Sloan.
“I wish I had done it,” said Mr. Sloan, author of “Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore.” “It pains me to deny authorship, because it’s so cool.”
Iterating Grace may be too insider-y for some readers, but the success of shows like HBO’s Silicon Valley proves there’s an audience that’s happy to laugh at the foibles of America’s tech elite.
