Nell Zink has carved out a unique space in contemporary literature with her sharp, often unsettling novels that delve into the complexities of identity and relationships. Her distinctive style blends wit, unexpected turns, and a keen eye for the absurdities of modern life. Drawing from a rich tapestry of personal experiences, Zink crafts characters and narratives that feel both deeply intimate and universally resonant. Her prose offers a masterful mix of humor, melancholy, and profound humanity, drawing readers in and leaving them with much to ponder.
Set against the vibrant backdrop of Berlin, this novel unfolds over a single, electrifying night. It captures the essence of spontaneity and adventure, showcasing the experiences of its characters as they navigate the city's dynamic atmosphere. The narrative promises to engage readers with its sharp prose and insightful observations, highlighting the complexities of human connections in a fleeting moment of time.
She spends her days tending plants, slogging through high school and imagining what life could be if she had been born to a different family.Then she meets Peter-a charming, troubled college student from the East Coast - who launches his teaching career by initiating her into the world of art.
Two generations of an American family come of age - one before 9/11, one after - in this moving and original novel from the "intellectually restless, uniquely funny" (New York Times Book Review) mind of Nell Zink
Nell Zink took on the challenge of reading a novel by a friend, Hebrew-language writer Avner Shats. Unable to make sense of his work, she resolved to rewrite it for him from scratch. Her tongue-in-cheek homage is available for the first time, accompanied by a dazzling and imaginative novella that ingeniously explores questions of art, language, and life.
Recent business school graduate Penny Baker has always rebelled against her unconventional family by being the "normal" one. Her mother, Amalia, hails from a South American tribe, while her father, Norm, is a former cult figure running a psychedelic healing center. Penny has never felt close to her older half-brothers—one is wealthy and charmingly wicked, the other a distant photographer. Everything shifts when Norm passes away, leaving her his childhood home in New Jersey. Upon visiting, she discovers the property is occupied by friendly anarchist squatters who have renamed it "Nicotine." These residents, passionate about smokers' rights, embody the fervor Penny feels she lacks, and she quickly becomes drawn to their sense of community. Moving into a nearby residence, she immerses herself in their political activism and commitment. As the Baker family's lives intertwine with the fate of Nicotine, Penny becomes increasingly determined to protect the house and its inhabitants. This culminates in a pivotal confrontation between her old family and her new one, leading to a dramatic turning point in her life.
'Heady and rambunctious ... Wake up, this book says: in its plot lines, in its humour, in its philosophical underpinnings and political agenda. I'll pay it the highest compliment it knows - this book is a wild thing.' New York Times Book Review Interlaken, Berne, 21st century. Several things happen after the car hits the rock. Tiff ceases to be pregnant. Stephen captures, like, the most wonderful bird - fleet, stealthy, and beautiful - a real "lifer". And the wallcreeper, the wallcreeper says "twee". The Wallcreeper is nothing more than a portrait of marriage, complete with all its requisite highs and lows: drugs, dubstep, small chores, anal sex, eco-terrorism, birding, breeding and feeding.
Startlingly radical, dazzlingly witty, unlike anything that has come before - this is the most exciting novel you will read this year. `Nell Zink is a writer of extraordinary talent and range. Her work insistently raises the possibility that the world is larger and stranger than the world you think you know.' Jonathan Franzen
"Nell Zink's debut novel follows a downwardly mobile secretary from Philadelphia who marries an ambitious soon-to-be-expat pharmaceutical researcher in hopes that she will never work again. They end up in Germany, where it turns out that her new husband is tougher, sneakier, more sincere, more contradictory, and smarter than she is; she'd naturally thought it was impossible. Life becomes complicated with affairs, birding, and eco-terrorism. Bad things happen, yet they stagger through, clinging to each other from a safe distance. Eventually our heroine commences building a life of her own, in imitation of her husband, one soggy brick at a time."--Publisher's website.