
The Simp
A Novel Without a Hero
Author: Roshan Sethi
Narrator: Vidish Athavale
Unabridged: 7 hr 51 min
Format: Digital Audiobook Download
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Published: 07/07/2026
Categories: Fiction, Literary Fiction
Synopsis
Raj Ladlani is a morose and unemployable actor. He has reasons to believe he is spectacularly talented, a legend in every way but for the success. He leads an anonymous life in LA, working part time at a frozen yogurt store, fantasizing about stardom and clinging to the encouragement of his aging and kindly acting coach.
At his life's nadir, Raj reads a job posting detailing a relentless, laughable parade of menial responsibilities for an organization blandly described as “Hollywood Family.”
The Simp tells the story of Raj’s momentous employment with the H Family and the destruction that follows. Jim H is a massive and macho director in a creative rut. Anna H might uncharitably be described as his much younger trophy wife, quietly and neurotically seeking out her own independent sense of purpose as a screenwriter. Raj’s work as their executive assistant becomes his new sense of soaring purpose. But he procured the job through a sea of lies.
The job itself is an absurdist walk through a landmine of affluent domestic chaos, identity politics, and petty Angeleno grievances. And things only get weirder when it turns out Anna H has been working on a secret project of her own—one that will change everything for Raj.