The Beguiling - Softcover

Gartner, Zsuzsi

 
9780735239371: The Beguiling

Synopsis

FINALIST FOR THE WRITERS' TRUST FICTION PRIZE

A GLOBE AND MAIL BEST BOOK

The perfect next read for fans of Ottessa Moshfegh and George Saunders, an electrifying debut about a woman who is transformed into a real life "flesh-and-blood Wailing Wall" as strangers unburden their sins to her at every turn.

Lucy is a lapsed Catholic whose adolescent pretensions to sainthood are unexpectedly revived following the disturbing deathbed confession of her cousin Zoltán. Afterwards, Lucy becomes a magnet for the unshriven, and she's transformed into a self-described "flesh-and-blood Wailing Wall" as strangers unburden themselves to her. Lucy finds herself addicted to these dark stories, craving hit after hit.
As the confessions pile up, Lucy begins to wonder if Zoltán's death was as random and unscripted as it appeared. She clutches at alarming synchronicities and seeks meaning from the strangers' stories, wondering why they seem connected to each other and eerily echo elements of her own life.
With ruthless wit and dizzying energy, The Beguiling explores blessings and curses, sainthood and sin, mortality and guilt in all its guises. Weaving together tales of errant mothers, vengeful plants, canine wisdom, and murder, this electrifying debut novel lays bare the sacrifices some are willing to make to get what they think they desire.

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About the Author

ZSUZSI GARTNER is the Scotiabank Giller Prize-shortlisted author of two widely acclaimed story collections, Better Living Through Plastic Explosives and All the Anxious Girls on Earth. Her fiction has been widely anthologized, broadcast on CBC and NPR, and won numerous prizes, including a 2016 National Magazine Award. She is also the editor of the award-winning fiction anthology Darwin's Bastards: Astounding Tales from Tomorrow. Zsuzsi has been on the faculty of UBC's Creating Writing MFA program and many of the Banff Centre's writing programs, and is the founder and director of Writers Adventure Camp in Whistler, BC. Excerpts from The Beguiling, her debut novel, have appeared in The Walrus, SubTerrin, and Maisonneuve. She lives in Vancouver.

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Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780735239357: The Beguiling

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  0735239355 ISBN 13:  9780735239357
Publisher: Hamish Hamilton, 1900
Hardcover