Elegy, Southwest by Watts, Madeleine

Description

From the author of The Inland Sea comes a stunning new novel about a couple’s road trip through the American desert for fans of Valeria Luiselli’s The Lost Children Archive and Rachel Cusk.

‘Tremendously moving’ Leslie Jamison

‘Enormously impressive’ Guardian

Eloise has known two great loves: her husband, Lewis, and the desert. Together, they set off on an unforgettable road trip through the American Southwest, passing vast canyons, glittering casinos and motels fallen into decay.

As Eloise documents the disappearing Colorado River, Lewis grieves his mother in the prickly terrain of his upbringing. Surrounded by loss, they cherish the miracle of having found each other, but each harbours a secret, driving them towards a destination neither is ready to face.

Haunting and richly atmospheric, this is a story about whether it’s ever possible to truly know those closest to us, and an elegy for a land running dry.

PRAISE FOR ELEGY, SOUTHWEST:

‘Exquisite’TLS

‘Haunting and precise’ Spectator

‘Strikingly brilliant’ Heidi Julavits

‘Astonishingly and chillingly prescient’ FT

‘An expansive, ambitious novel’ Ellena Savage

‘A startlingly good writer’ Amina Cain, author of Indelicacy