Reviews

The Swing Era

Geist Staff
Tags

The dysfunctional family is a familiar theme in literature these days, and Sarah Sheard's new novel The Swing Era (Knopf) is an exception only in that it is so good. It's the story of a young woman who returns home from abroad following her mad mother's death, the weight of memory heavy on her shoulders; the experience reunites her with her estranged father and awakens remembrances of neglect and even self-mutilation. Pretty risk stuff, but the author's deft prose, infused with a quiet intensity, makes it a powerful read.

No items found.

SUGGESTIONS FOR YOU

Dispatches
Dayna Mahannah

The Academy of Profound Oddities

The fish is a suspended phantom, its magenta skeleton an exquisite, vibrant exhibit of what lies beneath

Essays
Christine Lai

Now Must Say Goodbye

The postcard presents a series of absences—the nameless photographer,

the unknown writer and recipient; it is constituted by what is unknown

Reviews
Meandricus

Wordy goodness

Review of "Rearrangements" by Natan Last, published in The New Yorker December 2023.