Counterpoint is proud to publishing the debut novel by this brilliant 2018 National Endowment for the Arts Creative Fellow, Amanda Goldblatt Written with the sheer wit and exuberance of Nell Zink and the hypnotic intensity of Ottessa Moshfegh, Hard Mouth is a novel with a wholly unforgettable narrator. This is a book to be read breathlessly over a weekend, on the beach, by a book club; there are beautifully rendered characters and unresolved relationships; Hard Mouth has both commercial appeal and literary chops Goldblatt began writing this novel in the fall of 2011, the year her own father was diagnosed with cancer. At the same time, both of her grandmothers were increasingly elderly and increasingly ill. She began the novel not for catharsis but for escape, creating action while her own life felt stultifyingly passive in light of the pending loss around her. As such, the novel is deeply rooted in the wild, unpredictable ways that grief appears and (mis)directs our lives. Author is based in Chicago, IL and is a fervent independent bookstore patron and well-connected literary citizen Perfect for fans of Rachel Khong, Miriam Toews, Miranda July or Edan Lepucki Hardcover edition available for library markets Lexile Measure: HL720L Praise from Booksellers: " Hard Mouth 's heroine, Denny, is grieving the eventual death of her father from cancer and, depending on which way you look at it, she's either in a self-destructive tailspin or she's making moves to find out who she truly is. When isolation seems like the only course of action, Denny rents a secluded cabin: along for the ride is Gene, an admittedly unreal imaginary friend who's quick with bad advice and anecdotal quips. Armed with a gun, meal-replacement bars, wilderness guides, and an abundance of free time, Denny sets out to satisfy the escapist impulse and discover a new way of living. Hard Mouth is ambitious in its attempt to map the uncharted wilderness of loss and offers an unflinching examination of the kind of animal that grief makes of us." —Billy Butler, Bookshop Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, CA)
