Ducks, Newburyport (2019)

the fact that I almost didn’t want this book to end, the fact that I needed to get back to my real life, the fact that it was convincing, engrossing, suspenseful, amusing, devastating, the fact that lone mountain lions have been spotted twice in Des Moines in recent years, the fact that I don’t think they were lionesses... ( )

The fact that this thing is a doorstop, thick, brick, hard to hold open, took 5 months to finish, the fact that as you get further and further along you realize this woman doesn’t even know about Parkland because it hasn’t happened yet, let alone COVID-19, the fact that she doesn’t know about half of the terrible things Trump ended up doing as president, QAnon, insurrection, gun violence, the world actually got much worse, you wonder how many more pages would there be, the fact that despite the escalating horrors the social and cultural observations are precise and comprehensive, all of it there, up to the moment, spot-on, sickeningly accurate, deadly accurate, right on the money, the fact that the lurking danger, ominous threat, is brought home, arives up close and personal, the fact that there is bravery and heroism alongside the brutality, corruption, and ignorance, the fact that we’re all broken, the fact that this book feels inevitable, the fact that someone had to write this, it was necessary, the fact is that I loved Ducks, Newburyport. ( )

Amazing. ( )

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2019

A singular, unique, and amazing work that shows a whole human being in the right now. ( )