'Gabriel Roth is a natural. This is a very assured first book - fast, funny, full of snappy dialogue, and never losing its poise even when it's glancing into the abyss. I think he's a find.' -- Sebastian Faulks 'A wise and mature novel, a cool and contemporary one. It announces the arrival of a bright new talent.' -- Andrew O'Hagan 'A beautifully written and deeply intelligent novel.' -- Alex Garland 'There may be no rules or code for the unknowns in life but there is a book about them. Read it now.' West Australian 'This is a debut novel by a skilful young writer and it is predictably slick, but as the story progresses the writing becomes less clever and more thoughtful.' SMH/Age/Canberra Times 'This is one of those rare books that manages to capture a zeitgeist. The young and urbane of Western cities occupy a cultural niche, on that Roth has sketched with accuracy. I hesitate to use the words modern classic, but comparisions to the likes of Douglas Coupland an Bret Easton Ellis are not far off.' Waikato Times Part-romance, part coming-of-age story, snappily written, brilliant observed and as amusing as anything I've read, The Unknowns is a cool little book.' Herald on Sunday