An out-of-work actress gets a job as a tour guide for an ultra-luxury time travel company—only to discover her trips to the past could upend her present—in this sharp, speculative debut novel.

When Ash spots an ad for Retro during a depressing Instagram scroll—she’s in debt and unemployed; everyone else is, evidently, thriving—she’s surprised the algorithm sent it her way. She’s heard of recreational time travel, but it’s way out of her budget. Then she sees the caption: Come away with us! We’re hiring.

So begins Ash’s life as a Time Travel Agent, leading wealthy tourists on vacations to historical hotspots. She takes bachelorette parties to live out their cowboy-romance fantasies in the Old West and throws “’20s for your twenties” birthday bashes at speakeasies; she smiles politely as rich Wall Street guys give prospecting a shot in the Gold Rush. It’s all thrilling, outrageous, and totally surreal. Bygone America is just a Retro Metro ride away. 

Despite Ash’s tendency toward cynicism, she finds herself swept up in her dazzling new job. Sure, Ash isn’t the actress she always dreamed she’d be. But isn’t this so much better? It’s like Ash’s life is a movie, complete with an impossible love triangle. How is she supposed to choose between her mysterious office crush and the handsome private eye pursuing her in 1937? 

For the first time in years, Ash’s life feels enviable—so she’d really rather not pay attention to the strange things happening to her memory and relationships outside Retro. But as her trips threaten to unravel her real life, she confronts an unsettling truth: “escaping” into the past was never really an escape at all.

HONORS FOR RETRO

LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE

“This year, we received over 180 submitted titles with U.S. publication dates between January 1 and December 31, 2026. More than 500 participants in The Center’s First Novel Prize Readership—including writers, librarians, booksellers, and other devoted readers—reviewed the submissions to help determine the 19 debut novels below.

Inaugurated in 2006, the First Novel Prize honors the best debut novel of the year and supports emerging voices in fiction. Each year, the winning author receives a $15,000 prize in recognition of their contribution to contemporary literature and in support of their ongoing creative career. Past winners of the Prize include Marisha Pessl, Junot Díaz, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Tommy Orange, Raven Leilani, and De’Shawn Charles Winslow. In the fall, our judging panel of four distinguished authors will select the 2026 First Novel Prize Shortlist and winner.”

“THE BEST 19 NOVELS OF 2026 (SO FAR) BY MARIE CLAIRE

  • “As much as this is a delightful, breezy read, it feels all the more relevant and thought-provoking regarding our era's obsession with nostalgia—and why that may be worth reckoning with.”

“JUNE’S BEST SCI-FI AND FANTASY BOOKS” BY LITERARY HUB

  • “Time travel becomes a fun-house mirror for present-day ennui and future climate-crisis catastrophizing in this sharp debut from Vulture and McSweeney’s contributor Jessica M. Goldstein… the novel is also about Millennial startup culture, the platonic showmance of getting obsessed with your castmates, living vicariously through influencers’ vacation reels, the nostalgic romance of cross-country travel via Amtrak…that is to say, very much my shit, and hopefully yours too.”

“12 NOTEWORTHY DEBUTS TO READ IN JUNE” BY DEBUTIFUL

  • “So many writers slid into my DMs to recommend this book. They said it was right up my alley. Expectations were sky high. And Goldstein delivered a book that oozes charm. This is the page-turning wild ride you need this summer.”

“BEST NEW LITERARY FICTION BOOKS FOR SUMMER 2026” BY BIBLIOLIFESTYLE

  • This felt like literary fiction for people who are exhausted by internet culture, nostalgia obsession, and the feeling of constantly wanting to escape your own life. The time travel concept is incredibly fun, but underneath it is a genuinely emotional story about identity, performance, burnout, and wanting to live inside idealized versions of the past instead of the present. I especially loved how sharply it satirizes luxury culture and tech culture while still feeling emotionally grounded.”

 
 

Catch the Retro Metro!

Book tour tickets and event details:

Ready for an experience like ever Before?

Explore the world of Retro at the official Retro agency website!

PRAISE FOR RETRO

"This is a 2020s office novel that cleverly lampoons both the luxury travel industry and self-obsessed tech bros' myopic innovations... A nuanced, biting cautionary tale about how not staying present can erase our very selves." —Kirkus, starred review ⭐️

“In her speculative first novel, Goldstein expertly combines the nostalgia of historical fiction, the allure of sf, the humor of workplace fiction, and hints of romance to create an immersive tale that will appeal to diverse audiences, including fans of The Compound (2025) by Aisling Rawle, Oona Out of Order (2020) by Margarita Montimore, and The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (2024).” - Booklist, starred review ⭐️

"Retro is so much fun! It's got nostalgia, ennui, inappropriate workplace crushes, strange machines, jaunts to weird little bits of history, terrifying corporate overreach, and jokes: what more could you want?" — Holly Gramazio, author of The Husbands

"Jessica M. Goldstein always has her finger on the pulse of pop culture, and she's adept at writing about it in perceptive and hilarious ways. And in her funny time-leaping novel, she doesn't miss a beat. Retro is worth your attention—no matter what timeline you're on." — Christopher Monks, editor,McSweeney's Internet Tendency

"A magnetic read—equal parts charming, melancholy, and strange—perfect for those with sharp tongues but yearning hearts." — Emily Hunt Kivel, author of Dwelling

"Retro is so many things, all at once: delightful and disturbing; wildly speculative and chillingly realist; meticulously researched and intricately imagined; action-packed and profoundly engaged with questions of ethics, politics and philosophy; propelled through space (and, of course, time) by an engine of crackling cleverness and razor-sharp prose, but constantly retaining a Northstar of deep tenderness and genuine heart. This novel is a cri de coeur, a wild adventure, a brilliant book." — Moriel Rothman-Zecher, author of Sadness is a White Bird

"Retro puts a fresh spin on the time-travel genre, blending the allure of times gone past with the absurdities of corporate work culture. Shrewd, witty and original." — Aisling Rawle, author of The Compound

"Retro is a smart exploration of time travel in the Instagram age: a vividly imagined and gently satirical novel, with a keen eye for the ways nostalgia and commerce intertwine." — Hanna Bervoets, author of We Had to Remove This Post

"Retro is a funny, punchy, delightful romp through American history, tourism, and the modern workplace. Goldstein's eye for visceral detail shines as she incisively examines the nature of nostalgia. Existential but silly, heady but oh so juicy." — Casey Scieszka, author of The Fountain

"Retro is smart, funny, and delicious. If I could time-travel, I would go back and read it again for the first time." — Alexandra Petri, author of A.P. U.S. History: Important American Documents (I Made Up) and winner of the 2025 Thurber Prize for American Humor