Description

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A fearless and heartbreaking novel about love, friendship and incarceration, from the author of the internationally acclaimed The Flamethrowers.

‘Astounding… this year’s must-read’ ANNE ENRIGHT

Romy Hall is starting two consecutive life sentences at Stanville Women’s Correctional Facility. Her crime? The killing of her stalker.

Inside awaits a world where women must hustle and fight for the bare essentials. Outside: the San Francisco of her youth. The Mars Room strip club where she was once a dancer. Her seven-year-old son, Jackson.

As Romy forms friendships over liquor brewed in socks and stories shared through sewage pipes her future seems to unfurl in one long, unwavering line – until news from beyond the prison bars forces Romy to try and outrun her destiny.

* Pre-order Rachel Kushner’s new novel, Creation Lake, now *

‘Breathtaking’ VOGUE

‘One of our most outstanding modern writers’ STYLIST

‘Gritty, empathetic, finely rendered’ MARGARET ATWOOD (on Twitter)

Publisher Review

“It is an unforgettable novel, and leaves the reader in no doubt that Kushner is one of America’s greatest living authors.” * Daily Telegraph * “One of the greatest novels I have read in years. Her prior novel, The Flamethrowers, was expansive and thrilling, but this is richer and deeper, more ambitious in its moral vision… an exhilarating, always surprising read.” * Irish Times * “When I finished reading The Mars Room, I immediately reread it because I didn’t want to leave its world… The Mars Room teems with quick and distinctive voices.” — Max Liu * Financial Times * “Cements [Kushner’s] status as one of America’s finest writers.” * Vogue, **Must-Read Books of 2018** * “I’ve been bowled over by Rachel Kushner’s The Mars Room [about life in a women’s prison]. It’s astounding – very difficult to read but so beautifully done, and with such knowledge, although it doesn’t feel like a “researched” book.” — Anne Tyler * Observer *