Awards
2017 Whiting Award Winner
Synopses & Reviews
"Pretend Im Dead is utterly engaging, laugh-out-loud funny, and always compelling. Mona is an irresistible character and I loved being in her head and hearing her thoughts. In short, I was rooting for her straight through. Each sentence is alive, vibrant and quaking. Beagins writing is fearless and bold, and yet the book is entirely accessible and even relatable."—Jessica Anya Blau, author of The Wonder Bread Summer
Jen Beagins funny, moving, fearless debut novel introduces an unforgettable character, Mona—almost 24, cleaning houses to get by, emotionally adrift. Handing out clean needles to drug addicts, she falls for a recipient who proceeds to break her heart in unimaginable ways. She decamps to Taos, New Mexico, for a fresh start, where she finds a community of seekers and cast-offs. But they all have one or two things to teach her—the pajama-wearing, blissed-out New Agers, the slightly creepy client with peculiar tastes in controlled substances, the psychic who might really be psychic. Always just under the surface are her memories of growing up in a chaotic, destructive family from which shes trying to disentangle herself. The story of her journey toward a comfortable place in the world and a measure of self-acceptance is psychologically acute, often surprising, and entirely human.
Review
"Pretend Im Dead is utterly engaging, laugh-out-loud funny, and always compelling. Mona is an irresistible character and I loved being in her head and hearing her thoughts. In short, I was rooting for her straight through. Each sentence is alive, vibrant and quaking. Beagins writing is fearless and bold, and yet the book is entirely accessible and even relatable."—Jessica Anya Blau, author of The Wonder Bread Summer
Synopsis
Jen Beagins funny, moving, fearless debut novel introduces an unforgettable character, Mona—almost 24, cleaning houses to get by, emotionally adrift. Handing out clean needles to drug addicts, she falls for a recipient who proceeds to break her heart in unimaginable ways Always just under the surface are her memories of growing up in a chaotic, destructive family from which shes trying to disentangle herself. The story of her journey toward a comfortable place in the world and a measure of self-acceptance is psychologically acute, often surprising, and entirely human.
Jen Beagin on PowellsBooks.Blog
I write in bed, which I felt weird about for years until I learned that both Nabokov and Capote wrote in bed. Now I’m okay with it. What I feel weird about lately is that I do most of my writing on my phone, which wouldn’t be weird at all if I was a teenager. (I’m 47.) Perhaps because of my age and the fact that I didn’t grow up texting, I type with one finger...
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