Halle Butler Book order (chronological)

A ferocious novel by one of the boldest voices in American fiction, this story follows Margaret Anne (“Moddie”) Yance as she returns to her Midwestern hometown after a stressful decade in the city with a man she now views as a megalomaniac. Moddie abruptly ends her long-term relationship and seeks solace among her old friends, who are also grappling with the realities of approaching middle age. They navigate parties, past grievances, and dreams of triumph and revenge. When her friend Pam invites a mysterious East Coast artist for a winter residency at the local university, Moddie is forced to confront her past and the life she has created. As tensions rise, friendships will fracture, and loyalties will be tested. The narrative is filled with complex characters who both captivate and frustrate, as they embody the volatile and surreal atmosphere of modern life. This novel is a sadistically precise and hilarious exploration of the intricacies of relationships and the challenges of self-discovery in an ever-changing world.

A ferocious novel by one of the boldest voices in American fiction, this work follows Margaret Anne (“Moddie”) Yance as she returns to her Midwestern hometown after a decade in the city, where she lived with a man she now views as a megalomaniac or covert narcissist. Moddie abruptly ends her long-term relationship and seeks solace among her old friends, who are also grappling with the onset of middle age. Together, they navigate parties, past grievances, and dreams of triumph and revenge. When her friend Pam invites a mysterious East Coast artist for a winter residency at the local university, Moddie is forced to confront her past and the reality of her life. As tensions rise, friendships are tested, and old loyalties are pushed to their limits, transforming friends into enemies and vice versa. The narrative is filled with complex characters who both captivate and frustrate, showcasing their flawed decisions. The author masterfully captures the volatile, surreal atmosphere of contemporary life, offering a sharp and darkly humorous exploration of personal and social dynamics.

The "sublimely awkward and hilarious" (Chicago Tribune), National Book Award "5 Under 35"-garnering first novel from the acclaimed author of The New Me--now in a new edition Twenty-four-year-old Megan may have her whole life ahead of her, but it already feels like a dead end, thanks to her dreadful job as a gastroenterologist's receptionist and her heart-clogging resentment of the success and happiness of everyone around her. But no one stokes Megan's bitterness quite like her coworker, Jillian, a grotesquely optimistic, thirty-five-year-old single mother whose chirpy positivity obscures her mounting struggles. Megan and Jillian's lives become increasingly precarious as their faulty coping mechanisms--denial, self-help books, alcohol, religion, prescription painkillers, obsessive criticism, alienated boyfriends, and, in Jillian's case, the misguided purchase of a dog--send them spiraling toward their downfalls. Wickedly authentic and brutally funny, Jillian is a subversive portrait of two women trapped in cycles of self-delusion and self-destruction, each more like the other than they would care to admit.

In a windowless office, women stand in a circle. One explains something from her real, nonwork life - about the frustration and indignity of returning an item she bought online. One wears a topknot. Another checks her pedometer. Watching them all is Millie. Thirty-years-old and an eternal temp, she says almost nothing, almost all of the time. But then the possibility of a permanent job arises. Will it bring the new life Millie is envisioning - one involving a gym membership, a book club, and a lot less beer and TV - finally within reach? Or will it reveal just how hollow that vision has become?