LoveReading Says
Part coming-of-age survival story, part unconventional love story, part wry commentary on contemporary America and the people who fall prey to capitalism’s claws, Nell Zink’s Avalon is a unique and thought-provoking page-turner. Zink’s writing is razor-sharp and sublimely spell-binding, and Avalon boasts a remarkable narrative voice that had me hooked from the visceral opening scene.
With her father long gone, and a mother who abandoned her for a Buddhist colony, Bran’s childhood saw her raised by cruel non-relatives on a plant nursey (essentially a bunch of outlaw bikers), where she was set to work from a tender age. “Never considered a member of the family unless they wanted something from me,”, here Bran was “the ignorant child who knew no other life, the perfect employee, taught to accept self-harm as an economic necessity.”
But Bran finds friends in fellow outcasts through her teenage years, and begins a complicated long-distance relationship with a hilariously pretentious college student. At the same time, she takes up screen-writing and somehow manages to get by, and find a sense of self and anchorage. Not only is Bran’s voice uniquely gripping, but she’s also mightily resilient and fiercely witty.
Joanne Owen
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Avalon Synopsis
A NEW YORK TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR A profound and singular story about a young woman searching for her place in the world, from one of America's most original voices-the irresistible story of one teenager's reckoning with society at large and her search for a personal utopia.
"Effulgent and clever.... What fun." -The New York Times
Bran's Southern California upbringing is anything but traditional. After her mother joins a Buddhist colony, Bran is raised by her "common-law stepfather" on Bourdon Farms-a plant nursery that doubles as a cover for a biker gang. She spends her days tending plants, slogging through high school, and imagining what life could be if she had been born to a different family.
And then she meets Peter, a beautiful, troubled, and charming train wreck of a college student from the East Coast, who launches his teaching career by initiating her into the world of literature and aesthetics. As the two begin a volatile and ostensibly doomed long-distance relationship, Bran searches for meaning in her own surroundings-attending disastrous dance recitals, house-sitting for strangers, and writing scripts for student films. She knows how to survive, but her happiness depends on learning to call the shots.
Exceedingly rich, ecstatically dark, and delivered with masterful humor, Avalon is a poignant portrait of a young woman who, against all odds, is determined to find her place in the world and find clarity in its remote corners.
About This Edition
ISBN: |
9780593468159 |
Publication date: |
14th March 2023 |
Author: |
Nell Zink |
Publisher: |
Vintage Books an imprint of Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |
Format: |
Paperback |
Pagination: |
224 pages |
Primary Genre |
General Fiction
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Other Genres: |
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