It's Romeo and Juliet modern grunge style when Elise Perez, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks and colour meets Jamey Hyde, the scion of a rich family studying at Yale. The attraction is raunchy and immediate and they soon move to Manhattan. What develops is raw, a clash of worlds and sensibilities, mental health frailties and exacerbated emotions. When Jamey's family vengefully attack their relationship, the couple embark on an odyssey of lust, drug taking and despair that can only lead to a dark conclusion at the end of the twisted road. Despite the basic set up, this is not a book for young adults, but rather a tale of young adults abandoned by hope and hanging on to the anchor of their love, inarticulate, drowning and on a slippery road to nowhere. Libaire (and Elise) has a distinct voice, sardonic, sad and picturesque, with a wonderful touch for the telling details (such as Elise's coat, which gives the book its title). A familiar but fascinating tale. ~ Maxim Jakubowski
'A love story of equal parts grit and glamour' Vanessa Diffenbaugh, author of The Language of Flowers
For Elise and Jamey, real love is not all hearts and flowers. It's gritty, transgressive, and infuriating. Jamey belongs to New York's elegant, ferocious elite, and feels 'owned' by his privileged background; Elise is from a mixed-race family and is uncensored, brave, idiosyncratic. They meet by chance and the bond is instant, but the situation quickly spins out of control.
Set against the technicolour landscape of mid-80s New York, White Fur is a tale of money, class, sex and family; it questions what we will do to be free, and what it means to love like we might die tomorrow.
'Brilliantly written and deeply felt' Philipp Meyer, author of The Son
'[The] poet laureate of late nights and young love' Ada Calhoun, author of St Marks is Dead
