The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing

By M. T. Anderson

Part of the Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing series

A boy uncovers the dark truth behind his guardians' experiments in Revolutionary Boston.

3.5/5 Goodreads · 16,169 ratings

368 pages· 71,328 words· Est. 6.5 hour read

$17.99Save 7%

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Bookroo's summary

In Revolutionary Boston, a boy raised by enigmatic philosophers begins to question their true motives. As his mother, an exiled princess, captivates their household, he discovers a forbidden secret that reveals his unsettling role in their experiments. Amidst the chaos of a nation fighting for freedom, he must confront the chilling reality of his existence. What lies beyond the door he dared to open, and how will it reshape his understanding of liberty and identity? This gripping tale explores the haunting echoes of the past and the hidden truths that bind us.

From the publisher

National Book Award Winner!This deeply provocative novel reimagines the past as an eerie place that has startling resonance for readers today. It sounds like a fairy tale. He is a boy dressed in silks and white wigs and given the finest of classical educations. Raised by a group of rational philosophers known only by numbers, the boy and his mother – a princess in exile from a faraway land – are the only persons in their household assigned names. As the boy’s regal mother, Cassiopeia, entertains the house scholars with her beauty and wit, young Octavian begins to question the purpose behind his guardians’ fanatical studies. Only after he dares to open a forbidden door does he learn the hideous nature of their experiments – and his own chilling role in them. Set against the disquiet of Revolutionary Boston, M. T. Anderson’s extraordinary novel takes place at a time when American Patriots rioted and battled to win liberty while African slaves were entreated to risk their lives for a freedom they would never claim. The first of two parts, this deeply provocative novel reimagines the past as an eerie place that has startling resonance for readers today.