Mostly Dead Things
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4.0 • 2 Ratings
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- £2.99
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- £2.99
Publisher Description
'Messed-up families, scandalous love affairs, art, life, death and the great state of Florida in one delicious, darkly funny package. Kristen Arnett is a wickedly talented and a wholly original voice' Jami Attenberg
What does it take to come back to life?
In the wake of her father's suicide, Jessa-Lynn Morton has stepped up to manage his failing taxidermy business while the rest of the Morton family falls apart. Her mother starts sneaking into the shop to make alarming art with stuffed animals; and while her brother Milo withdraws, his wife, Brynn - the only person Jessa's ever been in love with - leaves home without a word. A string of unexpected incidents opens up the chance for the Mortons to mend: can they piece themselves together again?
Kristen Arnett's breakout debut is a darkly funny family portrait; a peculiar, bighearted look at love and loss and the ways we live through them together.
'This book is my song of the summer' Parul Seghal, New York Times
'Wonderful' Esmé Weijun Wang, Guardian
'Explores love, loss and death and is guaranteed to keep you gripped throughout' Mirror
'The writing is subtle and meditative, with the tactile weight of dense fur' New Yorker
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Arnett's dark and original debut, Jessa discovers her father dead of a suicide in the family's Florida taxidermy shop. She also finds a note asking her to take care of the failing business, her mother, and her brother, Milo. Additionally, Jessa mourns the loss of Brynn, her brother's (now) ex-wife and Jessa's longtime lover, who left both her and Milo years before. As Jessa grieves over her lost loved ones, she must also deal with her remaining ones: Milo sinks from the world, missing work and barely paying attention to his children, and Jessa's mother enters a late creative period, using the stuffed and mounted animals from the shop to make elaborate sexual tableaus for a local art gallery. Jessa also begins a romantic relationship with Lucinda, the director of the gallery and benefactor for Jessa's mother's newfound (and, for Jessa, "perverted") artistry. Set in a richly rendered Florida and filled with delightfully wry prose and bracing honesty, Arnett's novel introduces a keenly skillful author with imagination and insight to spare.
