ANew York Times Book ReviewNotable Book of 2017

An electrifying first collection from one of the most exciting short story writers of our time

“I cant recall the last time I laughed this hard at a book. Simultaneously, Im shocked and scandalized. Shes brilliant, this young woman.”David Sedaris

Ottessa Moshfegh’s debut novelEileenwas one of the literary events of 2015. Garlanded with critical acclaim, it was named a book of the year byThe Washington Postand theSan Francisco Chronicle, nominated for a National Book Critics Circle Award, short-listed for the Man Booker Prize, and won the PEN/Hemingway Award for debut fiction. But as many critics noted, Moshfegh is particularly held in awe for her short stories.Homesick for Another Worldis the rare case where an author’s short story collection is if anything more anticipated than her novel.

And for good reason. There’s something eerily unsettling about Ottessa Moshfegh’s stories, something almost dangerous, while also being delightful, and even laugh-out-loud funny. Her characters are all unsteady on their feet in one way or another; they all yearn for connection and betterment, though each in very different ways, but they are often tripped up by their own baser impulses and existential insecurities.Homesick for Another Worldis a master class in the varieties of self-deception across the gamut of individuals representing the human condition. But part of the unique quality of her voice, the echt Moshfeghian experience, is the way the grotesque and the outrageous are infused with tenderness and compassion. Moshfegh is our Flannery O’Connor, andHomesick for Another Worldis herEverything That Rises Must ConvergeorA Good Man is Hard to Find. The flesh is weak; the timber is crooked; people are cruel to each other, and stupid, and hurtful. But beauty comes from strange sources. And the dark energy surging through these stories is powerfully invigorating. We’re in the hands of an author with a big mind, a big heart, blazing chops, and a political acuity that is needle-sharp. The needle hits the vein before we even feel the prick.
Ottessa Moshfeghis a fiction writer from New England.Eileen, her first novel, was shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Man Booker Prize, and won the PEN/Hemingway Award for debut fiction.My Year of Rest and RelaxationandDeath in Her Hands, her second and third novels, wereNew York Timesbestsellers. She is also the author of the short story collectionHomesick for Another Worldand a novella,McGlue. She lives in Southern California.