"In 2014, the three women are living distant lives in the U.K. and Dubai when they are forced to reconnect after paintings made by their late father, a prominent artist, are suddenly rediscovered. At the same time, the Islamic State entrenches itself further into the siblings' homeland, prompting them to reflect on the meaning of their newfound status as cultural stewards."
"The narrator of this timely comic novel is a thirty-two-year-old sex worker who has just assassinated a reactionary politician known as Meat Neck. In the novel's first section-framed as a letter to the producers of a feminist podcast about historical women who have been unjustly maligned-the protagonist attempts to exonerate herself."
"While obviously a pessimistic satire of the current political moment, Novack's book is also an exploration of the ways that people fashion themselves in order to influence others' perceptions of them."
Floodlines presents a family saga following three Iraqi British sisters navigating distant lives in the U.K. and Dubai until their late father's rediscovered paintings force reconnection. Simultaneously, Islamic State's expansion into their homeland prompts reflection on cultural stewardship. Murder Bimbo features a thirty-two-year-old sex worker who assassinates a reactionary politician, presenting her defense through letters to a feminist podcast and an ex-girlfriend. Each letter reveals contradictions in her account, exposing how people construct narratives to shape others' perceptions. Both works employ literary sophistication to examine identity, belonging, and self-fashioning within contemporary political contexts.
#family-saga-and-sisterhood #political-upheaval-and-cultural-identity #unreliable-narration-and-self-fashioning #contemporary-satire
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