My Absolute Darling

Gabriel Tallent

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0735211175 ISBN 13: 9780735211179

Publisher: Riverhead Books, 2017

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
LA TIMES BOOK PRIZE FINALIST
NBCC JOHN LEONARD PRIZE FINALIST
ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES'S MOST NOTABLE BOOKS OF 2017
ONE OF THE WASHINGTON POST'S MOST NOTABLE BOOKS OF 2017
ONE OF NPR'S 'GREAT READS' OF 2017
A USA TODAY BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
AN AMAZON.COM BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
A BUSINESS INSIDER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

"Impossible to put down." --NPR

"A novel that readers will gulp down, gasping." --The Washington Post

"The word 'masterpiece' has been cheapened by too many blurbs, but My Absolute Darling absolutely is one." --Stephen King

A brilliant and immersive, all-consuming read about one fourteen-year-old girl's heart-stopping fight for her own soul.

Turtle Alveston is a survivor. At fourteen, she roams the woods along the northern California coast. The creeks, tide pools, and rocky islands are her haunts and her hiding grounds, and she is known to wander for miles. But while her physical world is expansive, her personal one is small and treacherous: Turtle has grown up isolated since the death of her mother, in the thrall of her tortured and charismatic father, Martin. Her social existence is confined to the middle school (where she fends off the interest of anyone, student or teacher, who might penetrate her shell) and to her life with her father.

Then Turtle meets Jacob, a high-school boy who tells jokes, lives in a big clean house, and looks at Turtle as if she is the sunrise. And for the first time, the larger world begins to come into focus: her life with Martin is neither safe nor sustainable. Motivated by her first experience with real friendship and a teenage crush, Turtle starts to imagine escape, using the very survival skills her father devoted himself to teaching her. What follows is a harrowing story of bravery and redemption. With Turtle's escalating acts of physical and emotional courage, the reader watches, heart in throat, as this teenage girl struggles to become her own hero--and in the process, becomes ours as well.

Shot through with striking language in a fierce natural setting, My Absolute Darling is an urgently told, profoundly moving read that marks the debut of an extraordinary new writer.

Review:

"It is unreal how vivid and compelling this book is. Turtle Alveston is one of the most vibrant characters I've come across in a long time, and every scene in this astonishing novel packs so much tension, so much insight, such beautiful prose and such masterful handling of detail, I simply could not stop reading." --Phil Klay, National Book Award-winning author of Redeployment

"There are books we like well enough to recommend, but there are a very few--To Kill a Mockingbird, Catch-22, The Things They Carried--that we remember forever. To my own shortlist I can now add My Absolute Darling, by Gabriel Tallent. Fourteen-year-old Turtle Alveston is a brilliantly rendered creation, and her father is the most terrifyingly believable human monster to inhabit the pages of a novel since Harry Powell in The Night of the Hunter. This book is ugly, beautiful, horrifying, and uplifting." --Stephen King

"Every once in awhile there comes along a fictional character...whose plight and determination to overcome subsumes the reader so completely, we actually feel ourselves missing him or her after the final page. Turtle, the adolescent protagonist of Gabriel Tallent's debut novel, is that and so much more...this is one of the most important books you'll pick up this decade." --Harper's Bazaar

"One of EW's favorite books of the year so far...an unputdownable coming-of-age novel." --Entertainment Weekly

"Difficult to put down...the writing is lush and vivid. You'll read it with your stomach in your shoes, rooting for [Turtle] the whole time." --Marie Claire

"The year's must-read novel...Tallent in this debut makes an old story -- the drama of coming of age -- feel original and full of youthful power." --The Times (London)

"The magnificent, inhospitable landscape of northern California is itself a character here...a fast-paced adventure story...[a] strange and remarkable book." --The Guardian

"[An] engrossing read." --InStyle

"Captures a compelling young heroine." --Vanity Fair

"The adolescent heroine of Gabriel Tallent's harrowing novel of abuse will not only break your heart, but leave your mind reeling with her resourcefulness, stamina and humanity. My Absolute Darling is a major American debut that incorporates psychological realism of the highest order, juxtaposed with nature writing that at times is so lyrical, you might as well be reading poetry...Tallent is not just a good storyteller, he is a superlative describer of the natural world. But what sets him apart is his ability to bring to life how that natural world is interpreted, and what that reveals about the characters in his fiction." --The Houston Chronicle

"Gabriel Tallent's debut novel is brilliant and terrifying, told in expansive, wild and bold prose...Reading this book is like watching an electrical storm, both beautiful and dangerous... with fragile tendrils of beauty and hope tenaciously emerging here and there in the gothic web the story weaves." --The Minneapolis Star-Tribune

"Explosive... Gabriel Tallent is a lapidary realist...There are many elements of this story we would rather not believe -- all so convincingly rendered that we can't help but believe them." --The Boston Globe

"My Absolute Darling is an absolute triumph." --The National

"Loved every minute." --Newsday

"Ferocious, heart-breaking ...Tallent combines gorgeous passages about the wilderness Turtle knows well and a steady beat of dramatic tension in this smashing debut." --BBC

"[A] gripping, vivid debut...Readers will root for Turtle as she sets out to escape and be absorbed by Tallent's stunning descriptions of nature." --RealSimple

"Destined for Hollywood, the action here spills off the page with Tallent's visceral descriptions of violence and the desperation to survive even the most unspeakable misfortune. It's possible that we've never rooted harder for anyone than we did for the heroic protagonist, Turtle Alveston; nor loathed a book's antagonist quite like her abusive father Martin. The cinematic pace of My Absolute Darling will have you physically reacting--clenching, sighing, relaxing, tensing up--as you barrel to the end of this incredibly redemptive, satisfying book." --goop

"Easily one of my favorite debut novels of the past decade." --Michele Filgate, LitHub

"To read [My Absolute Darling] is to become an evangelist for it." --The Millions

"Turtle is the strong, resilient heroine we didn't know we needed, and you'll fall head over heels in love with My Absolute Darling." --HelloGiggles

"You're going to be seeing this one everywhere pretty soon... a really remarkable tale about a remarkable young woman." --BookRiot

"[Tallent has] written a fearless adventure tale that's as savvy about internal emotional storms as it is about wrangling with family and nature... A powerful, well-turned story about abuse, its consequences, and what it takes to survive it." --Kirkus, starred review

"Few coming-of-age stories deliver the sheer lyrical power of Tallent's debut ... Lucidly written, both heartbreaking and heartfelt, this book is ultimately affirmative without the slightest sentimentality, and it's remarkable." -Library Journal, starred review

"Turtle is an extraordinary character whose thoughts and actions enliven the pages of Tallent's remarkable first novel--remarkable not only for its characterization but also for its minute examination of the natural world that Turtle inhabits. So vivid is the gorgeously realized setting that it becomes itself a major character in a novel that lingers in the mind long after the final page." -Booklist, starred review

"Emotionally fraught... Turtle's story is harrowingly visceral." --Publishers Weekly

"I read My Absolute Darling in one sitting, well past midnight, despite an early-morning flight: the book is that impossible to put down. Gabriel Tallent depicts Turtle's battle for her independence--body, mind, and soul--with brutal honesty and overwhelming tenderness. The result is a heartrending debut that will shock, then shake, then inspire you." --Celeste Ng, New York Times-bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere and Everything I Never Told You

"It is unreal how vivid and compelling this book is. Turtle Alveston is one of the most vibrant characters I've come across in a long time, and every scene in this astonishing novel packs so much tension, so much insight, such beautiful prose and such masterful handling of detail, I simply could not stop reading." --Phil Klay, National Book Award-winning author of Redeployment

"With its unconventional heroine and unflinching portrayal of an abused girl's fight to save herself, My Absolute Darling seems poised to become the breakout debut of the year." --The New York Times

"My Absolute Darling is Gabriel Tallent's first novel, and no less than Stephen King has called it a "masterpiece" to rank with To Kill A Mockingbird and Catch-22." --NPR

"Our generation's next beloved literary heroine....this is one of the most important books you'll pick up this decade." --Harper's Bazaar

"My Absolute Darling is a novel that readers will gulp down, gasping...Tallent [is a] prodigiously talented new writer." --The Washington Post

"A gripping introduction to a seriously brave little girl... My Absolute Darling is an affecting read but also an important one." --USA Today

"Impressively, this is...a novel of great beauty, filled with lush evocations of the woods." --Wall Street Journal

"A searing story of abuse and damaged people, but also about resilience, strength and survival. Much recommended." --Nicholas Kristof in The New York Times

"A gripping read, written in beautiful, brutal prose ... My Absolute Darling is a Great American Novel for the increasingly isolationist, fractionalised and disenchanted contemporary era." -Financial Times

"A stunningly poetic psychological thriller." --O, The Oprah Magazine

"There's no shortage of things to admire in My Absolute Darling --it's a devastating and powerful debut from a writer who's almost certain to have a wonderful career ahead of him." --NPR.org

"An unputdownable coming-of-age novel." --Entertainment Weekly

"The best drop-everything debut...if you loved To Kill A Mockingbird's Scout Finch, you'll be into Turtle Alveston." -Glamour

"A brilliant and haunting debut." --People

"Lush and vivid. You'll read it with your stomach in your shoes, rooting for [Turtle] the whole time." --Marie Claire

"[An] engrossing read." --InStyle

"Captures a compelling young heroine." --Vanity Fair

"A major American debut that incorporates psychological realism of the highest order, juxtaposed with nature writing that at times is so lyrical, you might as well be reading poetry." --The Houston Chronicle

"Stunning ... contemplative and heart-wrenching." -Los Angeles Review of Books

"Extraordinarily unsettling and ambitious...an amazing debut." --The San Francisco Chronicle

"Brilliant and terrifying, told in expansive, wild and bold prose...Reading this book is like watching an electrical storm, both beautiful and dangerous." --The Minneapolis Star-Tribune

"[A] glaring, gorgeous book... My Absolute Darling sounds primal alarms with an urgent contemporary voice." -Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"Beautifully written and emotionally gripping... My Absolute Darling is a strange hybrid of a book, part gorgeous nature writing, part psychologically astute family drama." --Tampa Bay Times

"Explosive...There are many elements of this story we would rather not believe -- all so convincingly rendered that we can't help but believe them." --The Boston Globe

"With its excellent prose and fast-paced plot, it is a spirited debut." --Dallas News

"My Absolute Darling is an absolute triumph." --The National

"Loved every minute." --Newsday

"The year's must-read novel...Tallent in this debut makes an old story -- the drama of coming of age -- feel original and full of youthful power." --The Times (London)

"An incandescent novel with an extraordinary, unforgettable heroine, both deeply contemplative and utterly thrilling." --The Guardian

"Ferocious, heart-breaking ...Tallent combines gorgeous passages about the wilderness Turtle knows well and a steady beat of dramatic tension in this smashing debut." --BBC

"[A] gripping, vivid debut...Readers will root for Turtle as she sets out to escape and be absorbed by Tallent's stunning descriptions of nature." --RealSimple

"The cinematic pace of My Absolute Darling will have you physically reacting...as you barrel to the end of this incredibly redemptive, satisfying book." --goop

"Easily one of my favorite debut novels of the past decade." --LitHub

"Gabriel Tallent showcases incredible emotional empathy and nature writing in this novel about a young woman named Turtle, who's my new favorite character in all of fiction." -Outside Online

"To read [My Absolute Darling] is to become an evangelist for it." --The Millions

"Philosophical but without pretense, the novel proves a fascinating examination of personal strength... by allowing Turtle to define her own reality." --Paste

"Cathartic and spine-tingling as hell." --Vox

"Turtle is the strong, resilient heroine we didn't know we needed, and you'll fall head over heels in love with My Absolute Darling." --HelloGiggles

"A fearless adventure tale that's as savvy about internal emotional storms as it is about wrangling with family and nature... A powerful, well-turned story about abuse, its consequences, and what it takes to survive it." --Kirkus, starred review

"Lucidly written, both heartbreaking and heartfelt, this book is ultimately affirmative without the slightest sentimentality, and it's remarkable." -Library Journal, starred review

"Remarkable not only for its characterization but also for its minute examination of the natural world that Turtle inhabits. So vivid is the gorgeously realized setting that it becomes itself a major character in a novel that lingers in the mind long after the final page." -Booklist, starred review

"Emotionally fraught... Turtle's story is harrowingly visceral." --Publishers Weekly

"There are books we like well enough to recommend, but there are a very few... that we remember forever. To my own shortlist I can now add My Absolute Darling, by Gabriel Tallent...This book is ugly, beautiful, horrifying, and uplifting." --Stephen King

"Impossible to put down... a heartrending debut that will shock, then shake, then inspire you." --Celeste Ng, New York Times-bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere and Everything I Never Told You

"Every scene in this astonishing novel packs so much tension, so much insight, such beautiful prose and such masterful handling of detail, I simply could not stop reading." --Phil Klay, National Book Award-winning author of Redeployment

"My Absolute Darling is a novel that readers will gulp down, gasping...Tallent [is a] prodigiously talented new writer." --The Washington Post

"A searing story of abuse and damaged people, but also about resilience, strength and survival. Much recommended." --Nicholas Kristof in The New York Times

"With its unconventional heroine and unflinching portrayal of an abused girl's fight to save herself, My Absolute Darling seems poised to become the breakout debut of the year." --The New York Times

"My Absolute Darling is Gabriel Tallent's first novel, and no less than Stephen King has called it a "masterpiece" to rank with To Kill A Mockingbird and Catch-22." --NPR

"Our generation's next beloved literary heroine....this is one of the most important books you'll pick up this decade." --Harper's Bazaar

"A gripping introduction to a seriously brave little girl... My Absolute Darling is an affecting read but also an important one." --USA Today

"Impressively, this is...a novel of great beauty, filled with lush evocations of the woods." --Wall Street Journal

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About the Author:

Gabriel Tallent was born in New Mexico and raised on the Mendocino coast by two mothers. He received his B.A. from Willamette University in 2010, and after graduation spent two seasons leading youth trail crews in the backcountry of the Pacific Northwest. Tallent lives in Salt Lake City.