Hernan Diaz's 'Ply' Reviewed: A Dystopian New York Where Democracy Has Collapsed
Hernan Diaz's latest work, "Ply" (Riverhead), shifts away from historical narratives to envision a dystopian New York City following the downfall of the U.S. and its democratic institutions. The story centers on an unnamed character, a "pincher" who illegally draws electricity from Tensor, a privatized power grid, in a city stripped of public services and plagued by low life expectancy, enforced by the ruthless security company CTS. The plot weaves in Zeno's paradox, initially presented as a lullaby and later as a challenge posed by Pola, a physicist eager to alter space-time. Diaz’s previous novels, "In the Distance" (2017) and "Trust" (Pulitzer winner), delved into themes of lawlessness, while "Ply" portrays a lawless existence. A review published in The New Yorker on September 28, 2026, critiques its intellectual aspirations.
Key facts
- Hernan Diaz's new novel "Ply" is published by Riverhead.
- "Ply" is set in a future New York City after the collapse of the United States and modern democracy.
- The protagonist is an unnamed "pincher" who steals electricity from the privatized grid controlled by Tensor.
- Private security company CTS has taken over public safety and murdered the protagonist's father.
- Zeno's paradox of Achilles and the tortoise appears twice in the novel.
- Diaz's first novel, "In the Distance" (2017), was a Pulitzer Prize finalist six months after publication.
- Diaz won the Pulitzer Prize for his second novel, "Trust".
- "Ply" features a scientist named Pola who builds a particle accelerator in an abandoned art museum.
- The novel's second half switches from first-person to third-person narration.
- The review was published in The New Yorker on September 28, 2026.
Entities
Artists
- Hernan Diaz
- Zeno
- Achilles
- Homer
- Håkan Söderström
- Pola
- Acevedo
- Sol
- Ines
- Anton
- Sam Elliott Connor
Institutions
- Riverhead
- Coffee House Press
- Pulitzer Prize
- Tensor
- CTS
- The New Yorker
- Picador
- AnOther
- CERN
Locations
- New York City
- United States
- Sweden
- Portsmouth
- San Francisco
- California
- Minneapolis
- SoHo
- Bronx
- Manhattan
- East River
- Zuccotti Park