RaveThe Chicago Review of Books\"There is a certain kind of fiction that, in its pitch-perfect encapsulation of reality, functions to help us mourn the distance between the world we want and the world as it is. These are the stories and novels of Marie-Helene Bertino ... Longtime Bertino fans may find that Beautyland is darker in tone than the earlier works. Bertino has never shied away from depicting the harsh realities of life in America — systemic inequities based on race, gender, and class, random acts of violence, the way the constant churn of capitalism leaves no time for grief — but she usually counters these with enough humor and whimsy to tip the scales toward joy. Beautyland begins in that vein, but it’s frontloaded; as Adina grows up, her outlook dims, and she lingers longer in depression and despair. These, Bertino seems to say, no one on Earth can escape, not even an extraterrestrial ... But Adina keeps trying to communicate. Her project — to write about what it means to be human — is also Bertino’s project, and in Beautyland she has done so masterfully.\
K Patrick
RaveThe Chicago Review of Books\"K Patrick recently made both Granta’s once-a-decade list of best young British novelists and The Guardian’s list of this year’s best new novelists, and the praise is warranted. Giving precedence to the senses above all else, Patrick’s language and style are fluid; no quotations or dialogue tags are used, and there are often no breaks between dialogue and interior monologue, to the point that you sometimes can’t tell who is speaking or whether something is only thought, not said aloud ... Patrick’s poetic, at times elliptical prose style is perfect for building erotic tension throughout the first half of the novel; and the second half, when the narrator and Mrs. S are faced with the prospect of what will come of their illicit affair, is just as suspenseful—and just as gratifying.\
