TIME’S #1 FICTION TITLE OF THE YEAR • NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2018 FINALIST for the MAN BOOKER PRIZE and the NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD LONGLISTED for the ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL An instant New York Times bestseller from two-time National Book Award finalist Rachel Kushner, The Mars Room earned tweets from Margaret Atwood—“gritty, empathic, finely rendered, no sugar toppings, and a lot of punches, none of them pulled”—and from Stephen King—“The Mars Room is the real deal, jarring, horrible, compassionate, funny.” It’s 2003 and Romy Hall, named after a German actress, is at the start of two consecutive life sentences at Stanville Women’s Correctional Facility, deep in California’s Central Valley. Outside is the world from which she has been severed: her young son, Jackson, and the San Francisco of her youth. Inside is a new reality: thousands of women hustling for the bare essentials needed to survive; the bluffing and pageantry and casual acts of violence by guards and prisoners alike; and the deadpan absurdities of institutional living, portrayed with great humor and precision. Stunning and unsentimental, The Mars Room is “wholly authentic…profound…luminous” (The Wall Street Journal), “one of those books that enrage you even as they break your heart” (The New York Times Book Review, cover review)—a spectacularly compelling, heart-stopping novel about a life gone off the rails in contemporary America. It is audacious and tragic, propulsive and yet beautifully refined and “affirms Rachel Kushner as one of our best novelists” (Entertainment Weekly).
Rachel Kushner
Rachel Kushner is an American novelist known for her critically acclaimed works that explore themes of art, politics, and society. Her most notable works include "The Flamethrowers" and "The Mars Room," both of which have been praised for their vivid prose and incisive commentary on contemporary culture. Kushner's writing style is characterized by its sharp wit, complex characters, and meticulous attention to detail. She has been celebrated for her ability to capture the complexities of human experience and the intricacies of power dynamics in her storytelling. "The Flamethrowers" was a finalist for the National Book Award and received widespread acclaim for its bold narrative and richly drawn characters. Rachel Kushner's contributions to literature have had a significant impact on the literary genre, influencing a new generation of writers with her innovative approach to storytelling and her insightful exploration of the human condition.
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