Beautyland

“An alien is born in Philadelphia in the year 1977. Her name is Adina. She is tasked with living a human life and reporting the events of said life to her distant home planet via fax machine. “It is an interstellar crisscross apple sauce. Two celestially significant events occurring simultaneously: The departure of Voyager 1 and the arrival of Adina Giorno, early and yellowed like old newspaper. If like a newspaper Voyager intends to bring the news, this baby is meant to collect it, though no one knows that yet, including her. Even as the spacecraft breaches the troposphere, the delicate probe stretches her fist toward a heat lamp in the pediatric ward of Northeast Regional, having just been born—or landed—depending on perspective, premature. Wriggling, yearning, recovering in heat, full head of thick black hair, at the moment she is still mostly salt and feeling””

“A perfect book. Hits right in that sweet spot where “strange” and “tender” meet.”

“I read this book after seeing a review from someone who threw it across the room because one of the many golden one-liners was so good”

“By Marie-Helen Bertino How can a book about an alien on earth make me feel so human?”

“At a young age, Adina realizes she is an alien put on Earth to study it. She sends her superiors missives via fax and the book follows her life from adolescence to mid life. Everything about this book is supremely tender and human, even when the character and the writing are witty, distant, and idiosyncratic. It made me so melancholy and hopeful and sad to be finished with it.”

“I listened to this as an audiobook on two long drives last summer and now I'm making my book club read it so I can read it again for real on paper. Beautiful, strange, hopeful, sad coming-of-age story with a defunct fax machine playing a key role. So good!”

“Her book Beautyland is my favorite book of all time and I’m not alone! Love her website, read Exit Zero, and Parakeet—those two are probably not for everyone, but I just love her writing so much”

“Poignant, tender and funny”

“One of my all time faves 📚”

“Think about this book often. From the perspective of a girl on earth who is also an alien of some sorts. From outer space.”

“Being human can be heartbreaking sometimes”

“Gorgeous, strange, and both heartening and heart-breaking novel.”