Mostly Dead Things

A Novel

By: Kristen Arnett

Narrated by: Jesse Vilinsky

One morning, Jessa-Lynn Morton walks into the family taxidermy shop to find that her father has committed suicide, right there on one of the metal tables. Shocked and grieving, Jessa steps up to manage the failing business, while the rest of the Morton family crumbles. Her mother starts sneaking into the shop to make aggressively lewd art with the taxidermied animals. Her brother Milo withdraws, struggling to function. And Brynn, Milo's wife - and the only person Jessa's ever been in love with - walks out without a word.

As Jessa seeks out less-than-legal ways of generating income, her mother's art escalates - picture a figure of her dead husband and a stuffed buffalo in an uncomfortably sexual pose - and the Mortons reach a tipping point. For the first time, Jessa has no choice but to learn who these people truly are, and ultimately how she fits alongside them.

Kristen Arnett's debut novel is a darkly funny, heart-wrenching, and eccentric look at loss and love.

An Esquire Magazine Pick of Most Anticipated Books of 2019
A BuzzFeed Books Pick of 2019 - Books to Keep on Your Radar
A Huffington Post Pick of 2019 - Books We're Looking Forward To
A Boston Globe Pick of Books We Can't Wait to Read
A Bustle Pick of 2019's Books to Add to Your Reading List

©2019 Kristen Arnett (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Great Story, Questionable Narration

I struggled to get through this on audiobook and eventually gave-up and finished it on my Kindle. There is an a misplaced emotional tone to the narration that comes off like a child coming down from a tantrum, suppressing sobs with every sentence that feels extremely disconnected from the emotionally fractured protagonist. It’s extremely distracting and takes away from the cleverness of the prose.

Disappointed

I wanted to love this book so much. Reading the description I was sure it was going to be a new favorite. But I could not get into it. I even restarted it because I was spacing out a lot and still couldn’t get into it the second time.

You need to keep an open mind for this one

this is the single most "hear me out" book I've ever read. the material is tough to swallow, but that's by design and it serves the story well. you're basically gonna have to just buckle up until the end. don't let anyone tell you this isn't a good book; it's a great book. is it fun? no, not at all, not even a little bit, but that's part of the point here

Unafraid Of Bad Moments

Arnett's story is powerful. Portraying the life of a girl in both dark and bright lights, Arnett gracefully melds the grotesque and beautiful into one. I strongly recommend this novel to readers looking for something new, hilarious, and painstakingly truthful. Vilinsky's reading threw me off at first but their emotion and androgynous tone lead to GREAT character voices.

Surprisingly Sweet

I enjoyed a lot of things about this book. To name a few:

1. It was queer without the entire storyline having to be about the drama of being queer.
2. It humanized imperfect people. I read, “Normal People,” earlier this year and it felt similar in this vein.
3. It humanized poor people. It explored the complexity of grief and human emotion.

I can’t wait to read more from Kristin Arnett..