Staff Pick
This book is the perfect beach read for the mentally ill. Recommended By Taylor W., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
A propulsive and daring new novel by the author of Very Nice about a woman on the run from catastrophe, searching for love, home, a swimming pool, and for someone who can perhaps stop the bleeding from her head.
Allison Brody is thirty-two and newly arrived on the East Coast after just managing to flee her movie producer boyfriend. She has some money, saved up from years of writing and waitressing, and so she spends it, buying a small house on the beach. But then a Category 3 hurricane makes landfall and scatters her home up and down the shore, leaving Allison adrift.
Should she go home from the bar with the strange cameraman and stay in his guest room? Is that a glass vase he smashed on her skull? Can she wipe the blood from her eyes, get in her car, and drive to her mother's? Does she really love the brain surgeon who saved her, or is she just using him for his swimming pool? And is it possible to ever truly heal without seeking some measure of revenge?
A gripping, provocative novel that walks a knife's edge between comedy and horror, Hurricane Girl is the work of a singular talent, a novelist unafraid to explore the intersection of love, sex, violence, and freedom — while celebrating the true joy that can be found in a great swim and a good turkey sandwich.
Review
"Just a little comedy about the loss of all worldly possessions, near-deadly assault, brain surgery, and violent revenge...Small comic gems sparkle in their deadpan settings on every page." — Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
Review
"Dermansky (The Red Car) creates a central character whose life is a hurricane of impulsivity...she effectively captures Allison's brain fog and inability to make reasonable decisions, particularly following a traumatic brain injury." — Library Journal
Review
"Eminently relatable in a world filled with pitfalls for women who try to figure out what they want for themselves." — Booklist
About the Author
Marcy Dermansky is the author of the critically acclaimed novels Very Nice, The Red Car, Bad Marie, and Twins. She has received fellowships from The MacDowell Colony and The Edward F. Albee Foundation. She lives with her daughter in Montclair, New Jersey.