Guide for the Perplexed

“A fable of fantastical lushness” unfolds as two women meet in a small Spanish town in this novel from the acclaimed author of Septimania (The New York Times Book Review).

Holland and Hanni have come to Spain for two very different reasons. They have nothing in common except their mysterious travel agent Ben. But they soon discover much deeper connections. Stranded overnight because of an airport strike, Hanni and Holland come to realize they share a strange web of history and happenstance―a common labyrinth that stretches back to World War II, the Spanish Inquisition, and beyond.

A Guide for the Perplexed is a collection of the letters these women write to their mysterious, unseen travel agent―a long night’s worth of confessions, a tapestry of tales chasing tales, including an untold saga of Columbus’s voyage to the New World, stories of war and lost loves, lost children, lost Jews, and the true origins of baseball.

Combining the erudition of Umberto Eco with the ingenious storytelling of A Thousand and One Nights, Jonathan Levi weaves together a provocative reimagining of the discovery of America in this inventive debut novel.