β Scribed by JoAnna Novak
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
A stunning look at the labor of obsession and the industry of self-destruction
In her lush, lyrical, and unflinching short fiction debut, JoAnna Novak examines the restless throb of desire amid the rote work of jobs and obligations, from the walk-ins of a New York banquet kitchen to the pier of Venice Beach. Fueled by jellyfish pad Thai and Necco wafers, Mountain Dew and Xiaolongbao, the characters in these stories defy boundaries and mores: In βMEMO 19,β a former anorectic, bored of recovery and her clerical job, invites an unparalleled act of sexual defilement and in βRio Grande, Wisconsin,β a fleshly preteen fantasizes about Bill Murray on a family vacation to Wisconsin. Celebrating the grueling beauty of the shift and the ticking virtues of self-restraint, Meaningful Work is a pageant of formal experimentation, in fearless, glittering prose.
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