“Beautyland is a monumental accomplishment, a shimmering masterpiece from an author with talent to spare.” — Michael Schaub for The Boston Globe
“It’s like fiction was invented for Adina and her tale.” —Anna Bostrom for Booklist
A wise, tender novel about a woman who doesn’t feel at home on Earth, by the acclaimed author of Parakeet.
At the moment when Voyager 1 is launched into space carrying its famous golden record, a baby of unusual perception is born to a single mother in Philadelphia. As a child, Adina Giorno recognizes that she is different; she also possesses knowledge of a faraway planet. The arrival of a fax machine enables her to contact her extraterrestrial relatives, beings who have sent her to report on the oddities of earthlings. As she moves through the world and makes a life for herself among humans, she dispatches transmissions on the terrors and surprising joys of their existence. But at a precarious moment, a beloved friend urges Adina to share her messages with the world. Is there a chance she is not alone?
“This is the kind of humor that made Seinfeld millions, and Bertino does pathos, too.” –Alexandra Jacobs for The New York Times
“Deftly blurring the line between reality and metaphor to create a work of exquisite beauty, joyfully off-kilter humor, and aching sorrow, Beautyland, and Adina’s lonesome journey, will fill and then shatter your heart.” — Dan Sheehan for Lit Hub
“A heartbreaking book that staggers with truth and beauty.” –Kirkus, starred review
“Bertino nimbly portrays her protagonist’s alienhood as both metaphor and reality. The results are divine.” –Publisher’s Weekly, starred review
“[With] Beautyland Bertino accomplishes what certain acclaimed novels bewilder us with: the ability to encapsulate an entire life within a few hundred pages.” — Madison Ford, The Brooklyn Rail
“From this gorgeous data of existence, Bertino taps into a particular nostalgic awe familiar to a generation of kids raised on Carl Sagan and inflatable lunchroom planetariums.” — Hilary Leichter, BOMB Magazine