Reviews
"There are books we like well enough to recommend, but there are a very few-- To Kill a Mockingbird , Catch-22 , The Things They Carried -- that we remember forever. To my own shortlist I can now add My Absolute Darling , by Gabriel Tallent. Fourteen-year-old Turtle Alveston is a brilliantly rendered creation, and her father is the most terrifyingly believable human monster to inhabit the pages of a novel since Harry Powell in The Night of the Hunter . This book is ugly, beautiful, horrifying, and uplifting." --Stephen King "I read My Absolute Darling in one sitting, well past midnight, despite an early-morning flight: the book is that impossible to put down. Gabriel Tallent depicts Turtle's battle for her independence--body, mind, and soul--with brutal honesty and overwhelming tenderness. The result is a heartrending debut that will shock, then shake, then inspire you." --Celeste Ng, New York Times -bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere and Everything I Never Told You "It is unreal how vivid and compelling this book is. Turtle Alveston is one of the most vibrant characters I've come across in a long time, and every scene in this astonishing novel packs so much tension, so much insight, such beautiful prose and such masterful handling of detail, I simply could not stop reading." --Phil Klay, National Book Award-winning author of Redeployment , "There are books we like well enough to recommend, but there are a very few-- To Kill a Mockingbird , Catch-22 , The Things They Carried -- that we remember forever. To my own shortlist I can now add My Absolute Darling , by Gabriel Tallent. Fourteen-year-old Turtle Alveston is a brilliantly rendered creation, and her father is the most terrifyingly believable human monster to inhabit the pages of a novel since Harry Powell in The Night of the Hunter . This book is ugly, beautiful, horrifying, and uplifting." --Stephen King "I read My Absolute Darling in one sitting, well past midnight, despite an early-morning flight: the book is that impossible to put down. Gabriel Tallent depicts Turtle's battle for her independence--body, mind, and soul--with brutal honesty and overwhelming tenderness. The result is a heartrending debut that will shock, then shake, then inspire you." --Celeste Ng, New York Times -bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere and Everything I Never Told You "It is unreal how vivid and compelling this book is. Turtle Alveston is one of the most vibrant characters I've come across in a long time, and every scene in this astonishing novel packs so much tension, so much insight, such beautiful prose and such masterful handling of detail, I simply could not stop reading." --Phil Klay, National Book Award-winning author of Redeployment "The tale of Turtle, a teenage girl being raised by her unstable widower father in the Northern California wilderness, will draw you so intimately into the heart and mind of this troubled captive that you'll almost feel her anguish--emotional and physical--as your own... Tallent's breathtaking debut is a harrowing and at times psychologically difficult journey on the scale of A Little Life or The Goldfinch , but it's worth it. The unflagging tenacity of this young heroine as she navigates her path to adulthood against seemingly insurmountable odds is a true inspiration." -- Harper's Bazaar "[Tallent has] written a fearless adventure tale that's as savvy about internal emotional storms as it is about wrangling with family and nature... A powerful, well-turned story about abuse, its consequences, and what it takes to survive it." -- Kirkus, starred review, "It is unreal how vivid and compelling this book is. Turtle Alveston is one of the most vibrant characters I've come across in a long time, and every scene in this astonishing novel packs so much tension, so much insight, such beautiful prose and such masterful handling of detail, I simply could not stop reading." --Phil Klay, National Book Award-winning author of Redeployment , "There are books we like well enough to recommend, but there are a very few-- To Kill a Mockingbird , Catch-22 , The Things They Carried -- that we remember forever. To my own shortlist I can now add My Absolute Darling , by Gabriel Tallent. Fourteen-year-old Turtle Alveston is a brilliantly rendered creation, and her father is the most terrifyingly believable human monster to inhabit the pages of a novel since Harry Powell in The Night of the Hunter . This book is ugly, beautiful, horrifying, and uplifting." --Stephen King "I read My Absolute Darling in one sitting, well past midnight, despite an early-morning flight: the book is that impossible to put down. Gabriel Tallent depicts Turtle's battle for her independence--body, mind, and soul--with brutal honesty and overwhelming tenderness. The result is a heartrending debut that will shock, then shake, then inspire you." -- Celeste Ng, New York Times -bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere and Everything I Never Told You "It is unreal how vivid and compelling this book is. Turtle Alveston is one of the most vibrant characters I've come across in a long time, and every scene in this astonishing novel packs so much tension, so much insight, such beautiful prose and such masterful handling of detail, I simply could not stop reading." --Phil Klay, National Book Award-winning author of Redeployment , "I read My Absolute Darling in one sitting, well past midnight, despite an early-morning flight: the book is that impossible to put down. Gabriel Tallent depicts Turtle's battle for her independence--body, mind, and soul--with brutal honesty and overwhelming tenderness. The result is a heartrending debut that will shock, then shake, then inspire you." -- Celeste Ng, New York Times -bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere and Everything I Never Told You "It is unreal how vivid and compelling this book is. Turtle Alveston is one of the most vibrant characters I've come across in a long time, and every scene in this astonishing novel packs so much tension, so much insight, such beautiful prose and such masterful handling of detail, I simply could not stop reading." --Phil Klay, National Book Award-winning author of Redeployment , "There are books we like well enough to recommend, but there are a very few-- To Kill a Mockingbird , Catch-22 , The Things They Carried -- that we remember forever. To my own shortlist I can now add My Absolute Darling , by Gabriel Tallent. Fourteen-year-old Turtle Alveston is a brilliantly rendered creation, and her father is the most terrifyingly believable human monster to inhabit the pages of a novel since Harry Powell in The Night of the Hunter . This book is ugly, beautiful, horrifying, and uplifting." --Stephen King "I read My Absolute Darling in one sitting, well past midnight, despite an early-morning flight: the book is that impossible to put down. Gabriel Tallent depicts Turtle's battle for her independence--body, mind, and soul--with brutal honesty and overwhelming tenderness. The result is a heartrending debut that will shock, then shake, then inspire you." --Celeste Ng, New York Times -bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere and Everything I Never Told You "It is unreal how vivid and compelling this book is. Turtle Alveston is one of the most vibrant characters I've come across in a long time, and every scene in this astonishing novel packs so much tension, so much insight, such beautiful prose and such masterful handling of detail, I simply could not stop reading." --Phil Klay, National Book Award-winning author of Redeployment "The tale of Turtle, a teenage girl being raised by her unstable widower father in the Northern California wilderness, will draw you so intimately into the heart and mind of this troubled captive that you'll almost feel her anguish--emotional and physical--as your own... Tallent's breathtaking debut is a harrowing and at times psychologically difficult journey on the scale of A Little Life or The Goldfinch , but it's worth it. The unflagging tenacity of this young heroine as she navigates her path to adulthood against seemingly insurmountable odds is a true inspiration." -- Harper's Bazaar "[Tallent has] written a fearless adventure tale that's as savvy about internal emotional storms as it is about wrangling with family and nature... A powerful, well-turned story about abuse, its consequences, and what it takes to survive it." -- Kirkus, starred review "Emotionally fraught... Turtle's story is harrowingly visceral." -- Publishers Weekly
