Pearl is a thirty-something filmmaker balanced precariously on the edge of an addiction-fueled breakdown. But when she is invited to interview her idol and crush, lesbian cult filmmaker Mitch Meyer, her stilted life restarts.
Buoyed and seduced by Mitch’s interest in her and her work, Pearl swaps alcoholism for romantic obsession and London for a summer in New York with Mitch. All the while she is haunted by a project she has been toying with for years: a film about Veronica Lake, a 1940s film star who drank herself into obscurity.
“Had me laughing, wincing, cheering, recognizing, admiring—and turning pages, rapidly.”—Maggie Nelson, author, The Argonauts
“Sophie out-jars The Bell Jar with this dark and gleaming masterpiece.”
—Eileen Myles, author, A “Working Life”
“This lush and detailed dive into the flayed-open femme heart is irresistible—
wild, cringy, addictive, relatable.”—Michelle Tea, author, Little F
“A masterful contribution to the canon of queer women’s literature. A smart and uncomfortable dissection of longing.”—Shon Faye, author, Love in Exile
“Unflinching, unexpected, radical, lyrical, and wholly original.”
—Sophie Mackintosh, author, Permanence
“I loved this lyrical fever dream of a novel. Melancholic, hopeful, seedy, dazzling, tender, brutal. Just gorgeous.”—Emma van Straaten, author, Creep: A Love Story
“Best novelistic treatment of addiction I’ve read in years.”—Keiran Goddard, author, I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning
“Robinson’s prose is as addictive as Pearl’s wanting. A fearless look into the dark.”—Lauren McQuistin, author, No Lost Causes Club: An Honest Guide to Recovery, and How to Find Your Way Through It
