K.E. Semmel

"This slim novel asks how far we’ll go to cure what ails us, and explores how badly we want the past to solve the present. Semmel is an elegant writer, and this is an assured, remarkable debut."

"K.E. Semmel has written a fine and funny novel. Are we merely the sum of our experiences—or is there something deeper, something ineffable? Losman, through considerable trial, and even more error, is about to find out."

"The Book of Losman asks important questions about memory, identity, and the things we choose from our personal histories to both passively and actively build our fractured selves."

“Start to finish, K.E. Semmel’s debut novel is a true joy. Daniel P. Losman—a man full of fear, anxiety, happiness, and confusion—is a remarkable creation."

"In this tender, compelling novel, by turns comic and—in one particularly memorable scene—terrifying, Semmel nails what it’s like to be an expat in Denmark.”

"Filled with humor, horror, and empathy, The Book of Losman is a stunning debut.”

“The death of an elderly neighbor kicks off this wild literary ride, in which Semmel deftly relates the story of Losman, a translator with Tourette who struggles to get to the source of his tics....The life of a literary translator has never looked so daring!”

“K.E. Semmel’s debut novel brilliantly captures the daily anxieties and mortification of being a human in the world. With warmth, wit, and remarkable perception, The Book of Losman reveals the lengths we're willing to go to spare our progeny from inheriting our deepest pains.”