Book cover of Creatures

Book description

“[A] kaleidoscopic narrative . . . Tenacious, wildly original, and full of insight.” —San Francisco Chronicle

“An alluring, atmospheric debut.” —People
 
A Belletrist Book Club Pick

A Most Anticipated Book of the Year: Entertainment Weekly • The Millions • Bustle
A Best Book of the Year: NPR's Book Concierge

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Why read it?

1 author picked Creatures as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This book oozed into my life, much like the creatures it portrays, at a moment when I desperately needed to read a beautifully written novel about very ugly things. Van Meter holds nothing back and has a spaciousness in writing that gives ample room for one’s own anxieties/fears/weak spots/obsessions to layer over her lush metaphor.

What does the ill-timed, putrid whale carcass offshore represent—our relationship with our mother? Our $60,000 student loan balance? That one cabinet above the sink that we’re too short to reach that hasn’t been cleaned since he moved out? Dealer’s choice. 

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