Description
From the author of the National Book Award longlisted epic The Great Offshore Grounds here is the debut novel that launched her careera story of activism police violence and white guilt in a not so distant dystopian America
An ambitious encapsulation of our modern times Zazen tackles counterculture hipsters geology Buddhism consumerism terrorism veganism family drama and above all love Judges Citation PEN/Robert W Bingham Prize
The world is on fire and Della doesnt know what if anything she should do about it
The country is poised on the brink of war Curfews and other restrictions give the police an excuse for violence Customers at the vaguely vegan cafe where Della is working after dropping out of grad school debate which foreign countries are the best to flee to Costa Rica Bali Dellas parentsformer revolutionariesare more excited at the idea of her brother and his Black wife giving them biracial grandbabies than in engaging in any new actions her nominally activist coworkers are mostly devoted to planning a massive sex party Della floats between them lost and numb
Then a bomb goes off some shallow place of capitalistic worship demolished Inspired for reasons not entirely clear to herself Della calls in a secondfakebomb threat But a bomb goes off there too and soon Della finds herself pulled in by a group of people who for once are promising to actually do something No matter the consequences Prescient when it was first published Vanessa Veselkas debut novel is even more revolutionary now
A VINTAGE ORIGINAL
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.