NAMED A BEST BOOK of the YEAR by O, THE OPRAH MAGAZINE, REFINERY 29, and KIRKUS REVIEWS SHORTLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE A “wondrous,” (O, The Oprah Magazine) “scathingly funny” (Entertainment Weekly) debut from Whiting Award winner Jen Beagin about a cleaning lady named Mona and her quest for self-acceptance and belonging after her relationship with a loveable junkie … belonging after her relationship with a loveable junkie goes awry.
Jen Beagin’s funny, moving, fearless debut novel introduces an unforgettable character, Mona–almost twenty-four, emotionally adrift, and cleaning houses to get by. Handing out clean needles to drug addicts, she falls for a recipient she calls Mr. Disgusting, who proceeds to break her heart in unimaginable ways.
Seeking a kind of healing, she decamps to Taos, New Mexico, for a fresh start, where she finds a community of seekers and cast-offs, all of whom have one or two things to teach her–the pajama-wearing, blissed-out New Agers, the slightly creepy client with peculiar tastes in controlled substances, the psychic who might really be psychic. But always lurking just beneath the surface are her memories of growing up in a chaotic, destructive family from which she’s trying to disentangle herself, and the larger legacy of the past she left behind.
The story of Mona’s quest for self-acceptance in this working class American world is at once hilarious and wonderfully strange, true to life and boldly human, and introduces a stunning, one-of-a-kind new voice in American fiction.
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I loved this book, it had me screaming with laughter with each new character in every chapter. Such a great way to forget this miserable year (2020) and everything connected with it. A wonderful, hilarious escape and gritty, realistic, uproarious fun.
This is one of my favorites this year! I loved the sharp edges and grittiness , the relatability & it’s unpredictable storyline. It felt as if the gifted author just let the crazt story run itself – however it is clear that there is serious craftsmanship at work. It had me in total stitches – wonderfully quirky, hilariously funny & heartbraking yet weirdly hopeful. I’m a fan!
After several chapters, I stopped reading this one.
Witty, nutty, way out there. Definately worth a read if you are in the mood for something different. Had to read her second book because I wanted to know what happened. Such a quirky character.
just loved this damn thing. Go read it.
Odd but pretty good. Kept my interest.
I regret spending time reading this book. It was confusing and disturbing.
Sometimes it was a little too far fetched.
I really enjoyed this book.
There are many special turns of phrase that had me bookmarking. While I didn’t admire any of the life choices the protagonist made, I was able to connect to her thoughts.
One thing – the download put the acknowledgment page before the end of the book. It was weird. I thought I’d read one ending, but there was another.
Purchased this, based on your description: “”A scathingly funny”” novel (Entertainment Weekly) that O, The Oprah Magazine named one of the best books of 2018!”. First, it was not, and second, really?
Great fun. Loved the characters.
Reviews of this book talked about how funny it was. Honestly, I never laughed. I thought it was horrendous. The main character was someone that I felt sorry for, but would never hang out with, so just the time it took me to read the book was far too much time spent with her. Her life has been a mess and now that she’s in her early 20s, her decisions don’t seem to be making anything better. One critic said he was so taken by her because she called her boyfriend “Mr. Disgusting”. I was appalled by the fact she even went out with this guy, much less became his girlfriend; everything about him was awful, but he was a serious drug user and she met him at a needle exchange, so what are the chances of this being a storybook romance?
And the book just went downhill from here. I didn’t like any of the people she met, and the way she interacts with people just didn’t make any sense to me. I rarely quit books, so I stuck with this one, but it was a chore. Be guaranteed that this is not an author I will seek out in the future.
The characters were confused and confusing. It was hard to feel anything for them, particularly when drug use was involved. Why this was on Oprah’s list is beyond me!
What a waste of time and money. Bizarre story totally unbelievable. Downloaded this because of good review from O Magazine second time I have been sorely disappointed in a Ophrah recommendation.
I think I didn’t get it.
Wow, this was different! I’ve not read anything quite like it before or at least in a while. I’m not sure really how to write the review, the protagonist, Mona kept me on my toes that’s for sure.
Mona seems to be a tortured soul who is a cleaning lady by choice, she takes great pride in her work. She goes from volunteering in Lowell, MA by handing out clean needles to addicts one evening a week to ending up in Taos, New Mexico starting her own cleaning service.
I have to admit this is was a fast read and it held my interest as I stated earlier Mona kept me guessing throughout the entire book. It did have an odd ending, I had read that in other reviews before I reading this novel.
I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this e-galley in exchange for an honest opinion
Pretend I’m dead by Jen Beagin a four-star read that will leave you thinking. This was not what I expected, I picked it up thinking it looked different and I was just in the mood for a palate cleanser and wow this really did cleanse the palate. I’ve seen this described as Frank and unflinching and it is in places. It’s also darkly comedic and filled with characters that you may not always like but you will always be behind and wanting to read the next line, page or chapter to find out what they get up to next. Mona’s journey is a fascinating one that takes her places I can only imagine. Not everyone will like this book as some of the subjects aren’t agreeable to all, but give it a go, it may just change the ways you think and feel.