Given his erudite lyrical stylings, it was only a matter of time before John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats wrote a whole book. And he did, back in 2014—his debut novel, Wolf In White Van, traced the rich interior life of a disfigured game designer. And if that impressive work of dreamy fiction left you hankering for more, then Darnielle has some good news for you: He’s already written his second novel, which will be published early next year.
The new book, titled Universal Harvester, will be published by Farrar, Strauss and Giroux. Darnielle didn’t reveal anything about the plot, but we did pore over this Instagram video that shows off the book’s packaging, which is inspired by old VHS cases. There’s a glimpse of the back of the book, which has a description of the text within, and it looks like Universal Harvester’s protagonist is named Jeremy. And he has an appropriately A.V. Club-like job: video store clerk.
Universal Harvester is expected to hit hardwood and digital shelves on February 7, 2017.
