Discontent
Beatriz Serrano author Mara Faye Lethem translator
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Vintage Publishing
Published:21st Aug '25
Should be back in stock very soon

Life can’t go on like this – can it?
This book is for everyone who has ever wanted more: more time, more meaning, more connection.
A sexy and hilarious Spanish bestseller, where a young woman's office persona threatens to crack when she’s forced to attend her company’s annual retreat.
'Hilarious' Daily Mail
'A wild ride' Express
'An impressive new comic talent' Daily Telegraph
On the surface, Marisa’s life looks enviable. She lives in a nice apartment in the heart of Madrid, her friendly neighbour and lover Pablo lives downstairs, and she’s risen quickly through the ranks at a successful advertising agency.
And yet Marisa hates her job and everything about it. Over one hot summer she finds herself in danger of being exposed when she’s forced to deliver a talk on creativity at a horrendous team-building retreat. Surrounded by psychopathic bosses, flirty facilitators, and an excess of drugs, Marisa is pushed to the brink of a complete spiral.
Discontent is a bold, biting novel about acting on our wilder impulses to reclaim our lives from work.
'Serrano writes with a caustic flair for detail, with charm and utter hilarity. Absolutely brilliant' Danya Kukafka, author of Notes on an Execution
‘I adored our heroine... A razor-sharp debut’ Anna Dorn, author of Perfume and Pain
'A love song to the listless and lonely of the LinkedIn age' Ariel Courage, author of Bad Nature
It’s hilarious – full of one liners and pithy observations. I rooted for Marisa from the start * Daily Mail *
A wild ride... even if you love your job, you're still guaranteed to find a bit of yourself in this book * Express *
Fun, caustic and mercilessly observed,Discontent announces an impressive new comic talent in European fiction * Daily Telegraph *
A wry work of spectacular wit, Discontentskewers every novel of workplace ennui that has come before it. Beatriz Serrano writes with a caustic flair for detail, exploring the small humiliations of the everyday corporate office with charm and utter hilarity. Absolutely brilliant -- Danya Kukafka, author of NOTES ON AN EXECUTION
Our heroine compulsively watches YouTube, pops Ativan, quotes both Britney Spears and Proust, dreads work small talk, and, at one point, Googles 'how to be creative.' I adored her. Discontentis a razor-sharp debut with a riveting climax -- Anna Dorn, author of PERFUME & PAIN
This intelligent, engaging novel perfectly captures the discontent of our contemporary minds, managing all the while to be totally hilarious -- Aysegül Savas, author of THE ANTHROPOLOGISTS
Discontent is a love song to the listless and lonely of the LinkedIn age. Our heroine—the Xanax-popping, YouTube-abusing Marisa—is the picture of modern malaise. Sharp, sad, and sardonic, Serrano's prose is all the encouragement you need to quit that job you hate. -- Ariel Courage, author of BAD NATURE
Office Space for literary weirdos. Discontent is brimming with witticisms and scathing observations about our modern-day malaise. While Serrano's narrator is drowning in existential dread, her debut novel never feels weighed down. Electric, lively, and brilliantly constructed by a new writer of immense talent -- Jean Kyoung Frazier, author of PIZZA GIRL
An acidic reflection on the existential crisis of a generation that thought it had guaranteed success. . . Humour in abundance, a punk ending that blows the reader's mind * Glamour (Spain) *
An x-ray as clear as it is painful of a job market that is often willing to steal the souls of those who inhabit it... one of the most outstanding literary debuts of the year * Harper’s Bazaar (Spain) *
A faithful portrait of millennial disenchantment * Vogue (Spain) *
A generational phenomenon that has crossed borders * Esquire (Spain) *
ISBN: 9781787305090
Dimensions: 215mm x 133mm x 15mm
Weight: 192g
192 pages