From the New York Times bestselling author of the Thursday Next series comes a laugh-out-loud funny (Los Angeles Times) and brilliantly original (Booklist, starred review) novel of a man attempting to navigate a color-coded world.

A rich brew of dystopic fantasy and deadpan goofiness.The Washington Post

Welcome to Chromatacia, where the Colortocracy rules society through a social hierarchy based on ones limited color perception. In this world, you are what you can see.

Eddie Russet wants to move up. When he and his father relocate to the backwater village of East Carmine, his carefully cultivated plans to leverage his better-than-average red perception and marry into a powerful family are quickly upended. Eddie must content with lethal swans, sneaky Yellows, inviolable rules, an enforced marriage to the hideous Violet deMauve, and a risky friendship with an intriguing Grey named Jane who shows Eddie that the apparent peace of his world is as much an illusion as color itself.

Will Eddie be able to tread the fine line between total conformityaccepting the path, partner, and career delineated by his hueand his instinctive curiosity that is bound to get him into trouble?