Awards

• Short-listed for Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction 2019 (UK)

Overview

From Whiting Award-winning author Jen Beagin comes this breathtaking sequel to the edgy and hilarious Pretend I’m Dead, continuing the story of Mona’s battle to put her ghosts to rest and carve out her own corner of happiness Mona is twenty-six and cleans houses for a living in Taos, New Mexico. She moved there mostly because of a bad boyfriend – a junkie named Mr Disgusting, long story – and her efforts to restart her life since haven’t exactly gone as planned. For one thing, she’s got another bad boyfriend. This one she calls Dark, and he happens to be married to one of Mona’s clients. Dark and his wife aren’t the only complicated clients on Mona’s roster, either. There’s also the Hungarian artist couple who – with her addiction to painkillers and his lingering stares – bring back painful memories of Mona’s childhood. As she tries to get over the heartache of her affair and the stirring currents of her traumatic past, Mona ends up on an eccentric, moving journey of self-discovery that takes her back to her roots, finally offering a glimpse of a future that could one day be hers. With Vacuum in the Dark, Jen Beagin has created another gem of a novel, constantly surprising, laugh-out-loud funny and utterly relatable. Following on from the highly acclaimed Pretend I’m Dead – ‘Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine on acid’, according to one Goodreads reviewer – this is an unforgettable, astonishing read from one of the freshest voices in fiction today.

Full Product Details

9781786075307

Table of Contents

Reviews

'By turns nutty and forlorn... Brash, deadpan, and achingly troubled, Mona emerges as that problematic friend you're nonetheless always thrilled to see.' * <i>O, the Oprah Magazine</i> * `Wildly exuberant...a comic novel that's a joy to read but never frivolous or superficial. Beagin is unafraid to take risks, and they all pay off here - Vacuum in the Dark is an excellent book by a writer with a singular voice.' * <i>NPR</i> * `Beagin stands out among fiction's fresh crop of promising voices: Her prose is dry, cutting, and genuinely funny; she loves writing about strange people, an affection which translates in characterizations that stay sharp and peculiar without ever turning cruel.' * <i>Entertainment Weekly</i> * 'Inventing situations and conversations that are off-the-charts in both weirdness and relatability, Beagin fashions an enchantingly intriguing main character in unfiltered, warmhearted Mona. This story of a woman embracing life's what-ifs and her own darkness is a great read.' * <i>Booklist</i> (starred review) * 'Tremendously engaging... Funny and poignant... Beagin secures her position as a new writer to watch.' * <i>Kirkus</i> (starred review) * 'An unforgettable story from one of the freshest literary voices today.' * <i>Living North,</i> Six of the Best Fiction Releases for 2019 * 'Beagin pulls no punches - this novel is viciously smart and morbidly funny.' * <i>Publishers Weekly</i> (starred review) *

'By turns nutty and forlorn... Brash, deadpan, and achingly troubled, Mona emerges as that problematic friend you're nonetheless always thrilled to see.' * <i>O, the Oprah Magazine</i> * `Wildly exuberant...a comic novel that's a joy to read but never frivolous or superficial. Beagin is unafraid to take risks, and they all pay off here - Vacuum in the Dark is an excellent book by a writer with a singular voice.' * <i>NPR</i> * `We all have a companion voice in our heads. Never more so when life is unpleasant but we can't really change anything. How lucky we'd be if that voice was Jen Beagin's. Honest (sometimes brutal), compassionate and always able to pick out what's funny in the darkest spot. Vacuum in the Dark had me grinning in recognition and laughing even as I winced.' * Sindhu Vee, Comedian and Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize judge * `Beagin stands out among fiction's fresh crop of promising voices: Her prose is dry, cutting, and genuinely funny; she loves writing about strange people, an affection which translates in characterizations that stay sharp and peculiar without ever turning cruel.' * <i>Entertainment Weekly</i> * 'Inventing situations and conversations that are off-the-charts in both weirdness and relatability, Beagin fashions an enchantingly intriguing main character in unfiltered, warmhearted Mona. This story of a woman embracing life's what-ifs and her own darkness is a great read.' * <i>Booklist</i> (starred review) * 'Tremendously engaging... Funny and poignant... Beagin secures her position as a new writer to watch.' * <i>Kirkus</i> (starred review) * 'An unforgettable story from one of the freshest literary voices today.' * <i>Living North,</i> Six of the Best Fiction Releases for 2019 * 'Beagin pulls no punches - this novel is viciously smart and morbidly funny.' * <i>Publishers Weekly</i> (starred review) *

'Inventing situations and conversations that are off-the-charts in both weirdness and relatability, Beagin fashions an enchantingly intriguing main character in unfiltered, warmhearted Mona. This story of a woman embracing life's what-ifs and her own darkness is a great read.' * <i>Booklist</i> (starred review) * 'Tremendously engaging... Funny and poignant... Beagin secures her position as a new writer to watch.' * <i>Kirkus</i> (starred review) * 'Beagin pulls no punches - this novel is viciously smart and morbidly funny.' * <i>Publishers Weekly</i> *

'Beagin pulls no punches - this novel is viciously smart and morbidly funny.' * <i>Publishers Weekly</i> *

Author Information

Jen Beagin holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of California, Irvine, and has published stories in Juked and Faultline, among other journals and literary magazines. She lives in New York.

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