Die, My Love / Ariana Harwicz

Man Booker International Prize 2018 Finalist

In a forgotten patch of French countryside, a woman battles her demons: craving freedom yet feeling trapped, yearning for family while wanting to burn the house down. Given surprising leeway by her family, she feels ever more stifled. Die, My Love confronts motherhood, womanhood, love, desire, and the brutality of “another person carrying your heart forever” with raw intensity. The question is not if she’ll break, but when, and how violently.

Reading Ariana Harwicz is wounding and unforgettable. Her language cuts like a scalpel and evokes a cinematic force—think Cassavetes, Lynch, Ford. Immersed in the psyche of a woman on the brink (in the tradition of Plath and Lispector), Harwicz bends language to her will in irreverent, bruising, yet lyrical prose. Die, My Love is a singular, addictive experience.