**NATIONAL BESTSELLER NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR, *HARPER’S BAZAAR, VOGUE, THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICE, THE IRISH TIMES, NEW REPUBLIC* AND KIRKUS REVIEWS The *New York Times* –bestselling, National Book Award–winning author of *The Friend* and *What Are You Going Through* brings her singular voice to a story about modern life and connection “I am committed, until one of us dies, to Nunez’s novels. I find them ideal. They are short, wise, provocative, funny — good and strong company.” **—** Dwight Garner, *The New York Times* “With the intimacy and humor of a great conversation, this novel makes you feel smarter and more alive.” **— *People Magazine*** “An ode to our basic need to connect with other beings, be they human or animal, even in a global crisis that told us to stay apart.” **—** NPR ** Elegy plus comedy is the only way to express how we live in the world today, says a character in Sigrid Nunez’s ninth novel. *The Vulnerables* offers a meditation on our contemporary era, as a solitary female narrator asks what it means to be alive at this complex moment in history and considers how our present reality affects the way a person looks back on her past. Humor, to be sure, is a priceless refuge. Equally vital is connection with others, who here include an adrift member of Gen Z and a spirited parrot named Eureka. *The Vulnerables* reveals what happens when strangers are willing to open their hearts to each other and how far even small acts of caring can go to ease another’s distress. A search for understanding about some of the most critical matters of our time, Nunez’s new novel is also an inquiry into the nature and purpose of writing itself.