Summary
Armed with a terminal diagnosis, a grudge, and a rental car, forty-year-old Hester sets out to fulfill her lifelong dream of killing her absent abusive father in this brilliantly subversive and bleakly funny novel.
What would killing him accomplish? Nothing, mostly. Then again, neither would letting him live.
When Hester is diagnosed with cancer on her fortieth birthday, she knows immediately what she must do—abandon her possessions and drive to California to kill her estrange…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781784745714 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1784745715 |
| Author: | Ariel Courage |
| Publisher: | Vintage Publishing |
| Imprint: | Chatto & Windus |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 304 |
| Release Date: | 24 June 2025 |
| Weight: | 307g |
| Dimensions: | 215mm x 135mm x 23mm |
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What They're Saying
Critics Review
‘Disarmingly dark and hilarious … I found Hester an addictively readable narrator: shrewd, catty and vengeful.’ * Daisy Lafarge, author of Paul *
‘Dark, funny, and completely unhinged, with moments of brutal tenderness.’ * Monika Kim, author of The Eyes Are the Best Part *
‘Dark, aloof, disciplined – this novel is reminiscent of the best of Ottessa Moshfegh or Emma Cline.’ * Mary Beth Keane, author of Ask Again, Yes *
‘Raw, intense, and absolutely mesmerising.’ * Helen Phillips, author of Hum *
‘A rare gift; audacious, insane’ * Alexandra Tanner, author of Worry *
‘So self-assured, so piercing. Unflinching and darkly funny, Bad Nature is a staggering debut’ * Anna Dorn, author of Perfume & Pain *
‘Savage and savvy… Bad Nature is one hell of a trip’ * Amy Twigg *
‘If you like your humour with a hefty dose of nihilism, this one’s for you’ * Vogue *
‘Ariel Courage’s debut is a fork jabbed in the electric socket of America… akin to Bret Easton Ellis’ “American Psycho”… It’s deeply impressive, at times uncomfortable.’ * LA Times *
Funny and moving, Bad Nature is a road-trip novel for the here and now, intent on mapping a way moving forward even when the end might seem to be nigh * Observer *
About The Author
Ariel Courage
Ariel Courage is a graduate of the Brooklyn College MFA program, where she was editor-in-chief of The Brooklyn Review. She’s currently an assistant fiction editor at AGNI Magazine. Her short work has appeared in Guernica, The New Limestone Review, and Works Progress, and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She was also a 2019 Kimmel Harding Nelson resident.
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