Synopses & Reviews
Russian-born Alina Bronsky, whose
Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine was named a Best Book of the Year by
Publishers Weekly and a Favorite Read of the Year by both
The Huffington Post and
The Wall Street Journal, returns with a startling new novel about the difficult work of self-acceptance.
After an encounter with a dog in which he was worsted, seventeen-year-old Marek begins attending a support group for young people with physical disabilities, which he dubs the cripple group,” led by an eccentric older man known as The Guru. Marek is dismissive of the other members of the support group, seeing little connection between their misfortunes and his own. The one exception to this is Janne, the beautiful young and wheelchair-bound woman with whom he has fallen in love. When a family crisis forces Marek to face his demons, group or no group, he is in dire need of support. But the distance he has put between himself and The Gurus misshapen acolytes may well be too great to bridge.
An atmospheric evocation of modern Berlin and a vivid portrait of youth under pressure, Just Call Me Superhero is destined to consolidate Alina Bronskys reputation as one of Europes most wryly entertaining and stylish authors.
Review
"Bronsky lands another hit with this hilarious, disturbing, and always irreverent blitz." — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
“Bronskys great gift is humor.” — Los Angeles Times
"What begins as a cruel comic romp ends as a surprisingly winning story of hardship and resilience." — The New Yorker
“A masterful study in delusion.” — The Financial Times
Synopsis
An atmospheric evocation of modern Berlin, a vivid portrait of youth under pressure, and a moving story about learning to love, this new novel from the author of Broken Glass Park is an irreverent look at the sometimes difficult work of self-acceptance.
Badly disfigured as a result of an encounter with a dog, seventeen-year-old Marek begins attending a support group for young people with physical disabilities, which he dubs "the cripple group," led by an eccentric older man only known as The Guru. Marek is dismissive of the other members of the support group, seeing little connection between their misfortunes and his own. The one exception to this is Janne, the beautiful wheelchair-bound woman with whom he has fallen in love. When a family crisis forces Marek to face his demons, with or without the group, he finds himself in dire need of support. But the distance he has put between himself and The Guru's misshapen acolytes may well be too great to bridge.
Just Call Me Superhero is destined to consolidate Alina Bronsky's reputation as one of her generation's most compelling and stylish young authors.
About the Author
The Daily Beast calls Alina Bonsky "an exciting new voice in the literary world." She has been hailed as a literary wunderkid whose writing style the Financial Times describes as "potent and vital." Bronsky is the author of Broken Glass Park--"the most astonishing debut in years"--and The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine, which was named a Publishers Weekly's Best Book of the Years. Just Call Me Superhero is her third novel. She lives in Berlin.