Nelly's Version

Eva Figes' inventive reshaping of the psychological thriller, Nelly's Version—part dark comedy, part mystery novel—offers an unsettling journey into the mind of a witty woman stuck in a pastless present.

A middle-aged woman suffering from amnesia checks into a small-town hotel under the pseudonym Nelly Dean with a suitcase full of cash and no idea where it, or she, came from. Distrustful of everyone from the waiter who serves her lunch to the store clerk who claims to know her from grade school, Nelly fears she is part of a conspiracy. At the same time, however, she remains strangely indifferent to the clues that might explain her puzzling circumstances and is unaffected by the many assaults, robberies, arsons, and other crimes occurring around her.

Named after the housekeeper in Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights, Nelly Dean is an endearingly unhinged character who will fascinate and excite readers in this deranged literary thriller, featuring an introduction by Susan Faludi.