The Expert of Subtle Revisions


... COMING MARCH 18, 2025 ...


A thrilling historical mystery about a young woman searching for her father, a young man trying to solve an impossible problem, and the quest for the power to transcend time.

"Smart. Propulsive. Addictive. Kirsten Menger-Anderson’s The Expert of Subtle Revisions grabbed hold with the opening sentence and didn’t let go until its surprising and satisfying conclusion." ―Peggy Townsend, author of The Beautiful and the Wild

"From Vienna to San Francisco, I was swept away by this fascinating search for family and for answers." —Janet Skeslien Charles, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Library and Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade

"A powerful and original novel that defies expectations in almost every chapter." ―Stephen McCauley, author of My Ex-Life and The Object of My Affection

AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER

About Me

author photo: kirsten menger-anderson; photo by Dave ThauI am a technical writer, essayist, researcher, and novelist based in San Francisco, California. My first book, Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain (Algonquin, 2008), was a finalist for the Northern California Book Award in fiction and one of Time Out Chicago's Top 10 books of 2008. My essays have appeared in LitHub, Undark, Towards Data Science, Becoming Human: Artificial Intelligence Magazine, and Q.E.D. I earned an MA in English and creative writing from SFSU and a BA in economics from Haverford College. I once worked as a production manager for Wired Digital and as the Director of Production for Salon.com.


More details about my new novel THE EXPERT OF SUBTLE REVISIONS coming soon!


Essays

A selection of recent essays.

CONSERVATION EFFORTS IN A REGION PLAGUED BY DROUGHT

From competitions to community-based tourism in Amazonas’ traditional community of Tumbira

WHEN AN AI WRITES WIKIPEDIA

How much does GPT-Neo know about us?

UNSETTLING SOMETHING

Why do we mistake computer generated poems as the work of humans?

MY SEARCH FOR LOVE POEMS FINDS GENDER BIAS

An opinion piece in the San Francisco Chronicle

ILLUSTRATIONS OF LOVE

I asked my computer to match 1000 love poems to 1000 images from the Met.
The Love Carousel Project

SEARCHING FOR LOVE POEMS

Are all the great poets dead?

INTO THE GAP

What Machine Learning Reveals About Gender And Writing

CAN YOU MEASURE THE HAPPINESS OF YOUR FAVORITE STORY?

On happiness, humans, machines and literature

A CONSTANTLY EVOLVING CONVERSATION

Using technology to monitor and protect the environment

Why I Protest

Our history, our literature, and our responsibility

What Does It See?

The troubled gaze of an artificial intelligence

Who’s Important?

A tale from Wikipedia

How I Turned My Discarded Novel Drafts into an AI

Could a computer learn to imitate me?

Silently Censored

A story in photographs

The Expert of Subtle Revisions

"A touching and deftly constructed story about the most precious thing we have—time. From modern-day San Francisco to Croatia before the Great War and 1930s Vienna, Kirsten Menger-Anderson follows her characters as they try to solve the mysteries of science, faith, and love. A glorious book." ―Laila Lalami, author of Pulitzer Prize-finalist The Moor’s Account

"Set in parallel historical eras, Kirsten Menger-Anderson’s fantastic novel of time-travelling mathematicians addresses the perilous line between brilliance and madness, the politics of hate, and the unsung women relegated to the shadows of history—all through a transporting story of love . . . and Wikipedia! If, like me, you become riled up over the difference between ‘accepted’ versus ‘chose’ or ‘killed’ versus ‘murdered’ then you too will absolutely love the brainy, vigilante spirit of The Expert of Subtle Revisions.”" ―Daphne Kalotay, author of The Archivists

"The Expert of Subtle Revisions begins with a mysterious disappearance and ends with a moving discovery. Along the way, Kirsten Menger-Anderson weaves together history, time travel, and a haunting love story. She also manages to raise stirring questions about identity, family, and what it means to record and revise history, especially one’s own. A powerful and original novel that defies expectations in almost every chapter." ―Stephen McCauley, author of and My Ex-Life and The Object of My Affection

"In her brilliant, unsettling novel, Kirsten Menger-Anderson reminds the reader that every nuance counts. Before, history was written by the victor; now, an army of volunteers with pseudonyms like ‘Manifold’ battle and edit each Wikipedia page. From Vienna to San Francisco, I was swept away by this fascinating search for family and for answers." ―Janet Skeslien Charles, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Library and Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade

"Smart. Propulsive. Addictive. Kirsten Menger-Anderson’s The Expert of Subtle Revisions grabbed hold with the opening sentence and didn’t let go until its surprising and satisfying conclusion. Brilliantly plotted and filled with deft twists and unforgettable characters, this dual-timeline novel about obsession, madness, and love is a must-read for fans of both mystery and historical fiction. I loved this book." ―Peggy Townsend, author of The Beautiful and the Wild

AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER


The Expert of Subtle Revisions

Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain

"Menger-Anderson's fictional take on the harsh realities of old-world medical science is at once grotesque and utterly compelling, as are her madcap characters, who desire so earnestly to find a cure--whatever the cost." -- SEED Magazine

"Vivid and Original" --Publishers Weekly

"An unforgettable literary experience" --Mary Roach, author of Bonk, Stiff and Spooked

"Menger-Anderson has written an intelligent and humorous history of the science of brains--and the brains of science." -- New England Journal of Medicine

"This is a remarkable debut by a writer to watch." --Ben Fountain, author of the B&N Discover Award winning Brief Encounters with Che Guevara

MORE ABOUT DR. OLAF
Doctor Olaf van Schuler's Brain

Contact

 

kirsten@kirstenmengeranderson.com