Danzy Senna | Romance

Symptomatic by Danzy Senna

Name: Symptomatic by Danzy Senna
Brand: Fehmerling Books
SKU: 1573222755
Price: 26.00 USD
Availability: InStock
ISBN: 9781573222754

Symptomatic by Danzy Senna

$26.00 USD

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Book Specifications

Format: Hardcover
Condition: Good
Publisher: Riverhead Books (2004)
Length: 213 pages
Genre: Romance
ISBN: 9781573222754
LCCN: 2003066888
OCLC: 53840041

Quantity

Ships within 1–2 business days. Carefully packaged for safe delivery.

A Biracial Writer Navigates Physical Illness, Ambiguous Identity, and a Dangerous Stalker in New York City

Published in 2004 by Riverhead Books, Danzy Senna's psychological novel follows an unnamed biracial writer who relocates to New York City for a fellowship at a prestigious cultural magazine. Struggling to navigate an insular media world where coworkers routinely misclassify her racial background, she experiences severe somatic reactions, developing painful hives and physical numbness that mirror her social estrangement.

Her isolation lifts when she encounters Greta, an older magazine employee who shares her mixed-race heritage and ambiguous features. What begins as mutual camaraderie rapidly shifts into an intrusive fixation. Greta rents the apartment directly above her, inserts herself into her romantic life, and begins mimicking her appearance and mannerisms, trapping the narrator in a cycle of paranoia, surveillance, and escalating psychological danger.

Why You’ll Love This Book

Danzy Senna uses the classic doppelgänger motif to examine racial passing, urban loneliness, and toxic workplace dynamics. Following her debut novel Caucasia, this title appeals to readers of Nella Larsen's Passing, Patricia Highsmith's suspense fiction, and contemporary novels by Brit Bennett and Kiley Reid.

Condition & Grading Guide

How We Grade Our Books

📸 True-to-Life Photos: For all vintage and pre-loved books, the photos on the page are of the exact physical copy on our shelf. Brand-new books feature official publisher cover art.
New: Direct from the publisher; immaculate, unread condition.
Like New: Pristine condition with minimal to no shelf wear; looks unread.
Very Good: Lightly read with minor shelf wear or light cover creasing. Pages are clean, crisp, and unmarked with a tight binding. (Our baseline standard for pre-loved books.)
Good: A well-loved reading copy with visible shelf wear or page aging, but fully intact and structurally sound.

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