Prairie Oyster : A 'dark and gleaming masterpiece' of queer obsession, perfect for Pride Month - Sophie Robinson
Sophie Robinson
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- Pages · 208 pages
- Publication Date · 26/02/2026
- Genre · Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)
Had me laughing, wincing, cheering, recognising, admiring - and turning pages, rapidly' MAGGIE NELSON'A masterful contribution to the canon of queer women's literature. A smart and uncomfortable dissection of longing' SHON FAYE
'Sophie out-jars The Bell Jar with this dark and gleaming masterpiece' EILEEN MYLES
'Unflinching, unexpected, radical, lyrical, and wholly original' SOPHIE MACKINTOSH-----Everything falls into place: she will get sober, she will eat well, she will start sleeping properly, she will work hard, she will resurrect her career, she will make The Lakes, she will charm Mitch, she will be somebodyPearl is a thirty-something filmmaker balanced precariously on the edge of an addiction-fuelled breakdown. When lesbian cult filmmaker Mitch Meyer shows an interest in her work about silver screen star Veronica Lake, Pearl's stilted life is given new meaning and she swaps alcoholism for romantic obsession; London for a summer in New York with Mitch. Prairie Oyster is a novel of queer longing, artistic fixation and the consequences of indulging our deepest desires. Poetic and moving, it explores the choices we make that we don't admit to ourselves, the people we make them for, and the struggle to hang on to yourself when the whole world is spinning out of control. -----'I loved this lyrical fever dream of a novel. Melancholic, hopeful, seedy, dazzling, tender, brutal. Just gorgeous' EMMA VAN STRAATEN
'Best novelistic treatment of addiction I've read in years' KIERAN GODDARD
'Robinson's prose is as addictive as Pearl's wanting. A fearless look into the dark' LAUREN MCQUISTIN
'This lush and detailed dive into the flayed-open femme heart is irresistible - wild, cringey, addictive, relatable' MICHELLE TEA
'Exhilirating . . . Robinson's feverish prose makes this tangled mess of lust, substance addiction and creative fixation feel disturbingly real - you can't look away' DAZED
'Beautiful . . . an original story about addiction and obsession, told with raw honesty, sensoriality, and visceral attention to detail - carving out a place for itself in the queer women's literary canon' NONCHALANT MAGAZINE
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