Disturbing, poignant, compelling, beautiful — these are just a few words that come to mind when describing
Claire Fuller's debut novel,
Our Endless Numbered Days. In 1970s London, eight-year-old Peggy Hillcoat lives with her concert pianist mother, Ute, and her father, James, an obsessive survivalist. After months of training and drills, James takes Peggy away to live alone with him in the forest, telling her that the rest of the world has been destroyed. Fuller's striking prose and description of Peggy's ordeal and resilience results in a page-turner that is hard to put down. Rarely has a novel captured our attention so fully and immediately, making
Our Endless Numbered Days an obvious choice for Indiespensable #52. We're pleased to present our subscribers with a special hardcover edition, produced exclusively for us by Tin House Books.
Also included in Volume 52 is an advance reader copy of The New and Improved Romie Futch by Julia Elliott, to be published by Tin House in the fall. This satirical Southern gothic yarn follows down-and-out 40-something taxidermist Romie Futch, who seeks experimental brain enhancement after replying to a medical test-subject ad. Wildly hilarious and downright bizarre, an exploration of science, culture, and memory, The New and Improved Romie Futch portrays a genetically modified, Dr. Moreau-like alternate reality.
Finally, we've added our newly released Powell's Marquee Coaster because, while you can never fully safeguard yourself from catastrophic disasters or ill-considered genetic engineering, you can at least protect your furniture from dreaded water staining. The coaster, produced by Portland's own House of Six Cats, features a photo of Powell’s landmark storefront on a sturdy laminated ceramic tile.