FINALIST for the 2024 NYPL Young Lions Fiction Award ⢠NPR BEST BOOK OF 2023 ⢠An enchanting Black Southern gothic debut, perfect for readers of Mexican Gothic... "Fresh, haunting...In her roller-coaster ride of a gothic debut novel, Monica Brashears upends expectations at every turn." âThe New York Times
âEvery page, every scene, every sentence of Monica Brashearsâs debut novel House of Cotton dazzles and surprises. An intense, enthralling, and deeply satisfying read!â âDeesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
"A new, dazzling, and essential American voice." âGeorge Saunders, author of Lincoln in the Bardo
One night, while working at her dead-end gas station job, Magnolia Brown encounters a mysterious, slick stranger named Cotton. He offers to turn her luck around with a lucrative âmodelingâ job at his familyâs funeral homeâwhere she will pose as clientsâ dead loved ones. She accepts. Despite earning more than sheâs ever made, Magnolia finds that her problems are fattening along with her wallet. And when Cottonâs requests become increasingly strange, Magnolia discovers thereâs a lot more at stake than just her rent.
This roller-coaster ride of a novel upends expectations at every turn. A bold new talent in the gothic tradition but with a style all her own, âBrashears offers a fresh new perspective on Appalachia and the American South, and Magnoliaâs rich voice will echo with readers long after the pages are closedâ (Shelf Awareness).
FINALIST for the 2024 NYPL Young Lions Fiction Award ⢠NPR BEST BOOK OF 2023 ⢠An enchanting Black Southern gothic debut, perfect for readers of Mexican Gothic... "Fresh, haunting...In her roller-coaster ride of a gothic debut novel, Monica Brashears upends expectations at every turn." âThe New York Times
âEvery page, every scene, every sentence of Monica Brashearsâs debut novel House of Cotton dazzles and surprises. An intense, enthralling, and deeply satisfying read!â âDeesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
"A new, dazzling, and essential American voice." âGeorge Saunders, author of Lincoln in the Bardo
One night, while working at her dead-end gas station job, Magnolia Brown encounters a mysterious, slick stranger named Cotton. He offers to turn her luck around with a lucrative âmodelingâ job at his familyâs funeral homeâwhere she will pose as clientsâ dead loved ones. She accepts. Despite earning more than sheâs ever made, Magnolia finds that her problems are fattening along with her wallet. And when Cottonâs requests become increasingly strange, Magnolia discovers thereâs a lot more at stake than just her rent.
This roller-coaster ride of a novel upends expectations at every turn. A bold new talent in the gothic tradition but with a style all her own, âBrashears offers a fresh new perspective on Appalachia and the American South, and Magnoliaâs rich voice will echo with readers long after the pages are closedâ (Shelf Awareness).