Cleave the Sparrow
by Jonathan Katz
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Pub Date 28 Mar 2025 | Archive Date 15 Oct 2025
Description
**WINNER OF THE 2025 LITERARY TITAN GOLD BOOK AWARD**
“Daring, unpredictable, and utterly consuming.” —San Francisco Book Review
“The most unique book I’ve read in years.” —Readers’ Favorite
“Uproariously funny and incredibly prescient.” —Hollywood Book Reviews
Wilder Crick, the worst presidential candidate in history, is dead.
Now his reluctant apprentice Tom and ruthless campaign manager Shelly must carry out his final order—a bizarre, posthumous search for the true, hidden nature of reality.
With time running out, the line between philosophy and survival blurs. Nuclear warheads loom, a doomsday cult grows bolder, and a violent refutation of the ego self might be humanity's last hope.
“Some books tell a story,” writes Literary Titan’s Priscilla Evans. “Others drag you into a chaotic, unrelenting experience that scrambles your brain and leaves you questioning everything. Cleave the Sparrow is the latter. It’s a fever dream wrapped in satire, political absurdity, existential horror, and bursts of unfiltered genius.”
Advance Praise
"Delivers a philosophical gut-punch unlike any other." —Chicago Book Review
“FIVE STARS. Existential horror, political satire, and absurd comedy in perfect harmony.” —Chanticleer Book Reviews
“A captivating, mind-bending ride… Cleave the Sparrow is raunchy, witty, incisive, and provocative. It reads like a mix of Chuck Palahniuk, Garth Ennis, and Neal Stephenson.” —BlueInk Reviews
“A brilliantly unsettling read that demands—and rewards—careful attention." —Los Angeles Book Review
“Biting and memorable… To read Jonathan Katz’s satirical novel is akin to being repeatedly struck on the funny bone.” —IndieReader
"Wild, smart, and just a little unhinged… Makes existential horror laugh-out-loud funny.” —Manhattan Book Review
“NOTABLE BOOK. A truly moving ode with a keen sense of place that blends philosophy, elements of humor and science adroitly.” —Pacific Book Review
“A vigorous, edifying satirical novel.” —Clarion Reviews
“FIVE STARS. Bursts of unfiltered genius… Satire so sharp it draws blood.” —Literary Titan
“STARRED REVIEW. Uproariously funny and incredibly prescient… An extraordinary book.” —Hollywood Book Reviews
“Daring, unpredictable, and utterly consuming, this is a novel that lingers in the mind long after you’ve closed the cover." —San Francisco Book Review
“FIVE STARS. The most unique book I've read in years.” —Readers’ Favorite
Available Editions
EDITION | Paperback |
ISBN | 9780938572831 |
PRICE | US$15.00 (USD) |
PAGES | 302 |
Links
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews

Wilder Crick is dead—thank God, and also, maybe, oh no? That’s the chaotic, razor-sharp energy Jonathan Katz injects into Cleave the Sparrow, a genre-defying fever dream of a novel that reads like Hunter S. Thompson freebasing Kierkegaard during a political campaign meltdown.
At its surface, the book follows Tom—Crick’s awkward, bewildered apprentice—and Shelly, the hyper-competent campaign manager with the empathy of a guillotine, as they attempt to honor Crick’s dying wish: uncovering the “true, hidden nature of reality.” Whatever that means. What begins as a surreal scavenger hunt quickly spirals into a gonzo exploration of ego death, apocalyptic politics, quantum uncertainty, and the kind of philosophical whiplash that leaves you wondering whether the book’s next twist will be a nuclear explosion or a sudden monologue on the illusion of free will.
And somehow, it all works.
Katz is a literary bomb-thrower, gleefully mixing satire, existential dread, and absurdist comedy in a narrative that’s part dystopian political thriller, part metaphysical head-trip. The pacing is relentless, the tone whiplashes from hilarious to horrifying, and the prose reads like poetry written during a panic attack. It’s a book that demands your full attention and pays it back in wild revelations and deep, soul-punching questions.
This isn’t a comfort read. It’s a challenge, a dare—equal parts chaotic road trip and philosophical descent into madness. But for readers willing to lean in and let go, Cleave the Sparrow is one of the most original, thought-provoking, and gloriously unhinged novels in recent memory.