Stephanie LaCava is a talent. Her prose is unendingly interesting. In her new novel, she seems to be tackling a lot of the same themes/subjects as her previous effort (art and artmaking, trauma, family). Only, I will admit, this one felt a little more scatter-brained, less linear. I thought it could have used a more traditional arc, at least for cohesion's sake. Still, her sentences are lovely, her characters well-rendered, lonely and full of heartbreak, and the world, one filled with artists, is fascinating. I found myself immersed in this world, despite my desire for something more grounded to time.

Thanks to the publisher for the e-galley!

The daughter of two self-absorbed rock stars finds herself adrift after her affair with a film director collapses, and she flees to a cabin in Montana to hide from the world. She meets a local man and falls into an odd relationship with him, but he of course turns out to be terrible as well. LaCava writes well but the story is relentlessly bleak and lonely.

The plot and ideas of this book immediately intrigued me and I thought that the book delivered on many of those promises. I did find my attention wavering during the first half of this novel, and wish that more of the book comprised of the events of the second half. The relationship with the character Graves, the 60s cinema references, and the 'cinema du corps' aspects should have taken up more space in the story than it ultimately did, because those were the strongest, and most interesting parts to read. Despite this minor setback, the front half of the book perfectly set up the emotional space and emptiness of our character for the latter half. I found certain parts of this book frustrating because I longed for more, but I am excited by Lacava's writing and look forward to reading more of her work.