The Mars Room

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From twice National Book Award-nominated Rachel Kushner, whose Flamethrowers garnered acclaim as one of the year's best, comes a compelling novel about a life derailed in contemporary America. Set in 2003, Romy Hall begins two consecutive life sentences at Stanville Women's Correctional Facility in California's Central Valley. Outside, she is cut off from her past, including her youth in San Francisco and her son, Jackson. Inside, she faces a harsh new reality: thousands of women striving for survival amid the bluffing, pageantry, and casual violence from both guards and inmates. Kushner captures the absurdities of institutional life with humor and precision. This stunning, unsentimental work showcases her mastery and depth, blending audacity with tragedy in a propulsive yet refined narrative. As noted in The New Yorker, her fiction is rich with diverse stories and histories, all vividly alive. Kushner is poised to be a significant voice for serious readers seeking insight and wisdom in challenging times. Critics, including Robert Stone and George Saunders, praise her ability to convey profound themes in an entertaining and mesmerizing manner, solidifying her status as a young master of the craft.