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A reporter’s investigation into the death of a friend turns existential in this debut novel.

Jacob Goldberg, a “writer for a moderately respected website,” believes that the key to his continued employment will be a podcast about the tragic death of his high school friend Seth Terry. While he’d always believed Seth was killed by some kind of stomach problem, Jacob is shocked to learn a decade later that Seth had in fact died of a heroin overdose, and that a high school acquaintance had sold him the fatal dose. The novel operates on dual tracks. The first and more interesting thread follows the interviews that Jacob conducts with old friends, forming an outline of Seth’s life through the character studies of others. To get a clearer picture of Seth, a “cherubic wisp of indeterminate racial origin with floppy hair and skinny jeans,” Jacob must interview grown-up punks, former drug users, and a Raytheon employee. The weaker thread follows Jacob’s internal conflict over transforming his friend’s life and death into digital content. Jacob tells himself that the story could “elevate [his] own thoughts and feelings and experiences into something that matters to strangers,” but he increasingly comes to feel that his approach might be “callous.” He’s also turned off by the mercenary approach of podcasting. “It’s still a really gripping story,” an editor says. “Does it matter if it isn’t totally true?” What keeps the novel tense is Jacob’s attempts to contact Lee, Seth’s drug dealer. Explored throughout are millennial culture, indie rock, and “the psychically fallow Bush years.” Totally of their time, these characters spend a lot of time smoking weed pens, playing video games, and posting on social media.

A frequently funny meditation on memory and loss.