Author(s): Vanessa Veselka

Fiction | Sophie's picks | Cat's picks

A cross-country novel of sisterhood - like a feminist version of the ODYSSEY or a wild retelling of THELMA & LOUISE set across post-capitalist America. 'IT BLEW ME AWAY' Emma Donoghue, author of ROOM'LARGE IN SCOPE AND HEART' Patrick deWitt, author of THE SISTERS BROTHERS'UNFORGETTABLE' Nathan Hill, author of THE NIX'A BLAST' Karen Russell, author of SWAMPLANDIA! On the day of their estranged father's wedding, half-sisters Cheyenne and Livy set off to claim their inheritance. It's been years since the two have seen each other - Cheyenne is newly back in Seattle after a failed marriage, Livy works refinishing boats - but the promise of a shot at financial security brings the two together to claim what's theirs. Except: instead of money, their father gives them information - a name - that reveals a stunning family secret. In the face of their new reality, the sisters each set out on journeys that will test their faith in each other, as well as their definitions of freedom. Moving from Seattle's underground to the docks of the Far North, from the hideaways of the southern swamps to the storied reaches of the Great Offshore Grounds, this is an epic tale told with boundless verve, linguistic vitality and undeniable tenderness.

FULLERS REVIEW — SOPHIE

What a fantastic read! This is a family drama so rich and deep and full of life’s complexities & nuances that it completely transcends any parameters that that classification implies (although some of the greatest works of fiction are of course family dramas.)We follow the lives of a single mother, Kristin and her grown children Livy, Cheyenne & Essex. The exact nature of their relationships, biological or otherwise, is the drama that drives the novel, along with the more mundane dramas of America’s working poor. They are all drawn with such insight & compassion that every time I closed the book they stayed with me for hours. I cannot recommend this highly enough.

FULLERS REVIEW — CAT

The best novel I’ve read this year. I like to mark passages of note, of beauty, when I’m reading and started off ok marking a few sentences, but things quickly got out of hand with a paragraph, then two, then a passage, then a page, then a chapter!! So elegant, so calm, so sharp, so FUNNY … this writing leaves me in awe and I can’t imagine the work that went into creating a book this effortlessly humorous and equally profound.