April 18, 2022
In Rukeyser’s intoxicating debut, high school dropout Mira, 18, finds herself witness to a whirlwind of drama on a remote Alaskan island. Mira, obsessed with the concept of sleaziness, appreciates Alaska for “contain more sleaze than the entire lower forty-eight” after a trip the previous summer, during which she fell into unrequited lust over her aunt’s seedy stepson, 24-year-old Ed. She returns and takes a job as a housekeeper and baker at Lavender Island Wilderness Lodge, with the goal of finding Ed and building a life with him. She’s one of six employees on the island, including Maureen and Stu, the middle-aged married couple who own the business; 18-year-olds Polly and Erin; and a recovering alcoholic chef. When not masturbating to the fantasy of phoning Ed, she notices Stu taking an interest in Erin. Tensions in the group escalate, creating a sense of desperation that’s heightened by the “deep, solemn fear” cast by the landscape. Mira, with her propensity for daydreaming and detachment, imagines intricate inner lives for her colleagues, a charming and fascinating element that takes this beyond the standard workplace drama. Rukeyser’s signature bleak humor will leave readers excited to see what comes next. Agent: PJ Mark, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc.
September 1, 2022
Rukeyser's debut is a haunting coming-of-age narrative with a distinctive protagonist. Over the course of a pivotal summer in Alaska, teenage narrator Mira confronts adulthood, lust, and compulsion. Taking on a hospitality role at a seaside resort, she is thrown into a rugged new world of tourists, staff, and fishermen as she wrestles with daydreams, baked goods, trauma, and an unknown future. As this novel is told in the first person, listeners will spend much time inside Mira's head. She has a unique way of seeing the world and a fixation on taxonomy and sleaze, which is reflected in Rukeyser's poetic language. Jeremy Carlisle Parker's performance emphasizes Mira's teenage detachment from the world through flattened, monotone narration, but other characters are performed with more animation, which sometimes seems to reflect Mira's dislike of them. This can make for a jarring listening experience at times. VERDICT This is a powerful look at the bewildering world of young adulthood.--Halie Theoharides
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