Synopses & Reviews
Esme "Easy" Hardwick, is the geek eye candy on a cable access show that's a cross between Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Elvira. She was raised in San Francisco by two gay dads, and although an inebriated Jim Nabors once told her that her mother was Adrienne Barbeau, her biological origins remain a mystery to her. Now on the cusp of thirty and a very minor celebrity in Troubador, Oregon, Easy is content with her quiet life in a go-nowhere town and her internet flirtations with ardent fans. But when Syfy picks up her show and her online message board repartee with one of her fans carries over into real life romance, complete with ex-wives, children, and unexpected pregnancy, things quickly spin out of control and she's forced into a reckoning with her past in order to embrace a future she never could have anticipated.
Review
"Nadine Darling's is a muscle of a novel. Don't be fooled by the title or by the narrator's couldn't-care-less attitude. This beast of a book--sometimes about motherhood and daughterhood, always about the all-round strangeness of family--is coming straight for your heart." Hannah Pittard, author of Reunion and The Fates Will Find Their Way
Review
"While the circumstances around Easy spin wildly out of control, it's her grounded-yet-comical narration that makes the book stand out. Her snarky asides and darkly funny quips will make readers laugh out loud, even in the face of death, divorce, mental illness, and heartbreak. Darling crafts a debut novel that's truly like nothing else. Unexpected comedy and an unusual plot make this a weirdly delightful read." Kirkus
Review
"What could be more fantastical and hard-to-believe than a book described as a 'comic novel' that turns out to actually be very funny. But is exactly that. I was unable to type the letters 'LOL' because I was too busy laughing out loud. It's also an involving story that brings together the important things in life--love, romance, family, parenthood, and obscure pop culture references. I recommend everybody read it in the not too distant future or sooner." Frank Conniff, writer and actor, Mystery Science Theater 3000
Review
"Newcomer Nadine Darling drops an unforgettable stylistic beat from page one and continues upping the stakes thereafter. is a hilariously touching ode to nerds and our culture, but more importantly, it's an honest and heartfelt tribute to the always eccentric human condition." Internationally bestselling author Lyndsay Faye who got every nerd reference in this book and watches way too much Star Trek, and wrote the Edgar-nominated Timothy Wilde trilogy
Review
"Early in Nadine Darling's , protagonist Easy Hardwick says she feels like 'the star of a house fire.' She's not wrong, and she doesn't come out unscathed, but she is one heck of a star, house fire or not. Dramatic, selfish yet genuine, and funny, really funny, Easy will carry you through the wildest book I've read in years." Sarah Blake, author of Mr. West
Review
"Darling entertains with a dry, witty humor that results in an amusing and zany romp." Booklist
Synopsis
A darkly comic debut novel, a hilariously told story of love, attachment, anxiety, and nerd culture.
Synopsis
Easy Hardwick has it made. At just about thirty, she s got a tumbledown cottage in small-town Oregon and an uncomplicated acting gig as the space-babe eye candy on a sci-fi parody show. She spends her downtime online, bickering with fans and fellow culture vultures about film trivia and relishing her minor-but-satisfying celebrity.
Enter Harrison. What begins as a jocular online flirtation spills into a messy IRL affair, and Easy finds herself pregnant with twins and sharing her home with the love of her life plus the teenage daughter, baby son, and slightly unhinged, soon-to-be-ex wife she kind of didn t totally know he had.
Easy may play a space ditz in hot-pants on TV, but her voice is restlessly intelligent, negotiating the absurdities of a world lived onscreen and online and striving to make sense of heady problems: love affairs, ex-wives, teen girls, eating disorders, and whether cannibalistic flies count as zombies. Like the captive great white shark that sets Easy s story in motion, Nadine Darling s writing has got teeth. Her pointed, precise dialogue, empathetic insights, and live-wire observations elevate this novel from zany domestic drama to outlandish comic masterpiece. She Came From Beyond is an audacious, fresh debut from a writer to watch.
Recognized as one of "35 Debut Authors Over 35""
About the Author
Nadine Darling's short fiction has appeared in Night Train, Edifice Wrecked, Eyeshot, SmokeLong Quarterly, and Per Contra. She lives in Boston with her family.