ROOM 220 presents Anne Gisleson

“A shattering and very important book…One of the best books of the year.” —Dave Eggers

“A charming, captivating, and incredibly smart must-read.” —Booklist

ROOM 220 is proud to celebrate the launch of Anne Gisleson’s The Futilitarians at 7 p.m. on Thursday, August 24, at the Saturn Bar (3067 St. Claude Avenue). In addition to a reading and reception, George Trahanis will perform songs by Jacques Brel and Michael Jeffrey Lee will play some existential ballads.

The Futilitarians is a witty, moving, and insightful memoir about looking for answers amid the pain of loss and the dreaded process of getting older—a book that New York Times bestselling author Jami Attenberg calls her “favorite memoir of the year” and sums up perfectly as “boozy, brilliant, beautiful, tragic, and deeply affecting.”

A Recommended Summer Reading pick in the New York Times and Elle, one of Amazon’s Best Books of the Month, and included in Real Simple‘s Five Books That Won’t Disappoint, The Futilitarians will be available for purchase courtesy of Octavia Books.

Anne Gisleson’s work has appeared in the Atlantic, the Oxford American, the Believer, and the Los Angeles Times, among other publications and anthologies. She teaches at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and lives in New Orleans with her husband and their two sons.

More on The Futilitarians:

“A beautiful book about the things that matter— love, death, grief, anger, regret, renewal, the life of the mind, the life of the heart, and the life of the world around you.” —Sam Lipsyte, New York Times Bestselling author of The Ask

“Sets out a search for meaning in grand terms and solves the search in the beauty of loving detail…. Plus, spoiler, it ends in fireworks and a reading list you do not want to miss.” —Louise Erdrich, National Book Award–winning author of LaRose

“If you love existential literature, or New Orleans, or your family, or are curious about the meaning of life, then you will find The Futilitarians to be an essential book.” —Dave Eggers, New York Times bestselling author of The Circle and What Is the What