Staff Pick
To read this book without laughing uncontrollably would require either an unparalleled devotion to stoicism or a lifelessness on par with that of Hazel's dad's treasured sex doll/companion, Diane. Nutting has a unique voice, a mixture of low-key cleverness and an oddball sense of humor that lends itself well to the insane situations she puts her characters in. Made for Love reads like the glorious love child of Katherine Dunn and Bravo's entire summer line-up (and yes, that's absolutely a compliment). Recommended By Lauren P., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
From one of our most exciting and provocative young writers, a poignant, riotously funny story of how far some will go for love and how far some will go to escape it.
Hazel has just moved into a trailer park of senior citizens, with her father and Diane his extremely lifelike sex doll as her roommates. Life with Hazel s father is strained at best, but her only alternative seems even bleaker. She s just run out on her marriage to Byron Gogol, CEO and founder of Gogol Industries, a monolithic corporation hell-bent on making its products and technologies indispensable in daily life. For over a decade, Hazel put up with being veritably quarantined by Byron in the family compound, her every movement and vital sign tracked. But when he demands to wirelessly connect the two of them via brain chips in a first-ever human mind-meld, Hazel decides what was once merely irritating has become unbearable. The world she escapes into is a far cry from the dry and clinical bubble she s been living in, a world populated with a whole host of deviant oddballs.
As Hazel tries to carve out a new life for herself in this uncharted territory, Byron is using the most sophisticated tools at his disposal to find her and bring her home. His threats become more and more sinister, and Hazel is forced to take drastic measures in order to find a home of her own and free herself from Byron s virtual clutches once and for all. Perceptive and compulsively readable, Made for Love is at once an absurd, raunchy comedy and a dazzling, profound mediation on marriage, monogamy, and family."
Synopsis
CHOSEN AS A 2017 BEST SUMMER READ PICK BY
Publishers Weekly - New York Magazine - Buzzfeed - Refinery29 - Nylon
From the exciting and provocative writer of Tampa, a poignant, riotously funny story of how far some will go for love--and how far some will go to escape it.
Hazel has just moved into a trailer park of senior citizens, with her father and Diane--his extremely lifelike sex doll--as her roommates. Life with Hazel's father is strained at best, but her only alternative seems even bleaker. She's just run out on her marriage to Byron Gogol, CEO and founder of Gogol Industries, a monolithic corporation hell-bent on making its products and technologies indispensable in daily life. For over a decade, Hazel put up with being veritably quarantined by Byron in the family compound, her every movement and vital sign tracked. But when he demands to wirelessly connect the two of them via brain chips in a first-ever human "mind-meld," Hazel decides what was once merely irritating has become unbearable. The world she escapes into is a far cry from the dry and clinical bubble she's been living in, a world populated with a whole host of deviant oddballs.
As Hazel tries to carve out a new life for herself in this uncharted territory, Byron is using the most sophisticated tools at his disposal to find her and bring her home. His threats become more and more sinister, and Hazel is forced to take drastic measures in order to find a home of her own and free herself from Byron's virtual clutches once and for all. Perceptive and compulsively readable,
Made for Love is at once an absurd, raunchy comedy and a dazzling, profound meditation marriage, monogamy, and family.
Synopsis
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2017 BY
GQ - PopSugar - NPR - Huffington Post - Electric Literature - The New Yorker
CHOSEN AS A 2017 BEST SUMMER READ PICK BY
Publishers Weekly - New York Magazine - Buzzfeed - Refinery29 - Vulture - Nylon
From the exciting and provocative writer of Tampa, a poignant, riotously funny story of how far some will go for love--and how far some will go to escape it.
Hazel has just moved into a trailer park of senior citizens, with her father and Diane--his extremely lifelike sex doll--as her roommates. Life with Hazel's father is strained at best, but her only alternative seems even bleaker. She's just run out on her marriage to Byron Gogol, CEO and founder of Gogol Industries, a monolithic corporation hell-bent on making its products and technologies indispensable in daily life. For over a decade, Hazel put up with being veritably quarantined by Byron in the family compound, her every movement and vital sign tracked. But when he demands to wirelessly connect the two of them via brain chips in a first-ever human "mind-meld," Hazel decides what was once merely irritating has become unbearable. The world she escapes into is a far cry from the dry and clinical bubble she's been living in, a world populated with a whole host of deviant oddballs.
As Hazel tries to carve out a new life for herself in this uncharted territory, Byron is using the most sophisticated tools at his disposal to find her and bring her home. His threats become more and more sinister, and Hazel is forced to take drastic measures in order to find a home of her own and free herself from Byron's virtual clutches once and for all. Perceptive and compulsively readable,
Made for Love is at once an absurd, raunchy comedy and a dazzling, profound meditation marriage, monogamy, and family.