From the Whiting Award-winning author of Pretend I’m Dead, a new one-of-a-kind novel about a cleaning lady named Mona and her struggles to move forward in life.
... a wildly exuberant novel that doesn't shy away from the weirder and more disgusting parts of life. Vacuum in the Dark is a funny and surprisingly sweet book about a young woman who grew up too fast and is trying desperately to reinvent herself ... There are a lot of things to love about Vacuum in the Dark, but the character of Mona... is the main one ... Beagin is a wonderfully funny writer who also happens to tackle serious subjects, which few authors are able to pull off successfully ... the result is a comic novel that's a joy to read but never frivolous or superficial. Beagin is unafraid to take risks, and they all pay off here — Vacuum in the Dark is an excellent book by a writer with a singular voice.
It’s a clever device, supplying Mona with a self-questioning conscience, inner voice of reason, the occasional punch line — a glimpse of the interior life of a character who often appears to be operating on autopilot ... [Mona's story contains] a sort of existential drift to it, a sense that of all the houses to be inhabited and roles to be played and liaisons to be had, none offers much beyond the moment; although the moments — sharply drawn, sexually charged, wry with Mona’s deadpan wit — often suffice.
Inventing situations and conversations that are off-the-charts in both weirdness and relatability, Beagin fashions an enchantingly intriguing main character in unfiltered, warmhearted Mona. This story of a woman embracing life’s what-ifs and her own darkness is a great read-alike for Melissa Broder’s The Pisces (2018).
