Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Jun 2022
240 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
A propulsive and daring new novel by the author of Very Nice about a woman on the run from catastrophe, searching for love, home, a swimming pool, and for someone who can perhaps stop the bleeding from her head.
Allison Brody is thirty-two and newly arrived on the East Coast after just managing to flee her movie producer boyfriend. She has some money, saved up from years of writing and waitressing, and so she spends it, buying a small house on the beach. But then a Category 3 hurricane makes landfall and scatters her home up and down the shore, leaving Allison adrift.
Should she go home from the bar with the strange cameraman and stay in his guest room? Is that a glass vase he smashed on her skull? Can she wipe the blood from her eyes, get in her car, and drive to her mother's? Does she really love the brain surgeon who saved her, or is she just using him for his swimming pool? And is it possible to ever truly heal without seeking some measure of revenge?
A gripping, provocative novel that walks a knife's edge between comedy and horror, Hurricane Girl is the work of a singular talent, a novelist unafraid to explore the intersection of love, sex, violence, and freedom—while celebrating the true joy that can be found in a great swim and a good turkey sandwich.
"Just a little comedy about the loss of all worldly possessions, near-deadly assault, brain surgery, and violent revenge…Small comic gems sparkle in their deadpan settings on every page…The only bad thing about this book is that you will likely finish it in one sitting." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"There's some deliciously dry humor ("Allison was doing a horrible job at saving her life. Shameful, in fact"), but the surreal aura doesn't really develop into anything substantial or comprehensible. Readers are left with a Moshfegh-like vibe, but without a strong character or story." - Publishers Weekly
"With her new work, Dermansky creates a central character whose life is a hurricane of impulsivity...Dermansky surrounds Allison with disappointing men, making her trust issues understandable, and she effectively captures Allison's brain fog and inability to make reasonable decisions, particularly following a traumatic brain injury…Satisfying." - Library Journal
"[L]et's just say there's a lot going on here, and even more to love. This is a comedic horror mishmash that's as quirky as it is a ton of fun, plus it centers around swimming pools. Does it get much more beach-ready than that?" - Good Housekeeping
"Marcy Dermansky is one of the most wildly original writers that I've ever read, and Hurricane Girl showcases what makes her so amazing. In tracking the unpredictable movements of a strange and hypnotic journey in the aftermath of a natural disaster, Dermansky nails the sensation of being alive, of navigating a world so strange that it's almost a dream, of trying, again and again, to anchor yourself to a moment, to assure yourself that you exist, to withstand anything and somehow keep living." - Kevin Wilson, author of Nothing to See Here
This information about Hurricane Girl was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Marcy Dermansky is the author of the critically acclaimed novels Very Nice, The Red Car, Bad Marie, and Twins. She has received fellowships from the MacDowell Colony and the Edward F. Albee Foundation. She lives with her daughter in Montclair, New Jersey.
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