Avalon

The new novel from one of America's most original voices - a blackly funny and profoundly singular Cinderella story about a young woman finding her place in the world.

Bran's Southern California upbringing is anything but traditional. After her mother abandons her and joins a Buddhist colony, Bran is raised by her 'common-law stepfather' on Bourdon Farms - a plant nursery that doubles as a cover for a biker gang. She spends her days tending plants, slogging through high school and imagining what life could be if she had been born to a different family.

And then she meets Peter-a charming, troubled college student from the East Coast-who launches his teaching career by initiating her into the world of art. The two begin a seemingly doomed long-distance relationship as Bran searches for meaning in her own surroundings. She knows how to survive, but now she must learn how to live.

Praise for The Wallcreeper:
'Alluring, elliptical, exceptional ...' Sunday Times
'Every page is an angular masterpiece ...' Dazed
'Fierce, striking and original...' Guardian
'Heady and rambunctious ... this book is a wild thing' New York Times Book Review
'Strange, hilarious, and utterly captivating' Harpers Bazaar
'A work of bizarre brilliance' New Statesman

Praise for Mislaid:
'Audacious and exciting' Independent
'Zink is a comic writer par excellence' New Yorker
'Direct, provocative and self-knowing... a unique romp of a book' Irish Times
'Funny, sexy and daring' Observer
'An extraordinary talent' Daily Telegraph

About the Author

Nell Zink left Southern California for eastern Virginia in 1972, aged eight. After completing a B.A. in philosophy at the College of William and Mary, she worked mostly as a secretary, with stints in masonry, technical writing, and translating. Her books include The Wallcreeper, Mislaid, Private Novelist, Nicotine, and Doxology, and her writing has appeared in n+1, Granta, and Harper's Magazine.