Evil Genius - by Claire Oshetsky (Hardcover)

About the Book

"In this sly, darkly funny novel, a young woman becomes increasingly obsessed with tales of love and death, and begins subconsciously plotting to murder her abusive husband"-- Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

An exuberant, brutally hilarious novel about a young woman's insatiable quest to carve her own path--even if she needs to step over a few dead bodies along the way

It's 1974 and San Francisco is full of mystery and menace. Nineteen-year-old Celia Dent keeps telling herself how lucky she is to be working at the phone company and to be married to her Drew, a man who says he loves her. Celia's contentment with her little life is shattered, though, when a woman she knows from work is murdered in a love tryst gone awry. What would that be like, Celia wonders, to die for love--or to kill for love? What would it be like to live each moment passionately and with full awareness that each breath is bringing her closer to her last?

Before Celia knows it, her musings about love-and-death happenings are bleeding into daily life. Suddenly she's playing hooky from work and searching for a love tryst of her very own. She's practicing her marksmanship at a local gun range and thinking about how good it would feel to bury something sharp inside her domineering husband's ear. It's all pretend, though, until the night comes when Celia finally goes too far, and she and Drew are set on a deadly collision course.

Exhilarating, surreal, and bitingly clever, Evil Genius is a comic noir exploring obsession and desire--and what happens when a sweetly seditious young woman dares to imagine a better life.

Review Quotes

"Celia is a fetching character for whom the reader dearly wishes a positive outcome, despite all the dead bodies that seem to be accumulating around her. Darkly charming, highly original, and fiendishly clever." - Kirkus (Starred Review)
"Oshetsky blends noir sensibilities with their signature surrealism, effortlessly slipping between dark humor and unnerving sensuality. The result is thrilling." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Ottessa Moshfegh's Eileen meets Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho meets Barbara Loden's Wanda meets all kinds of queer feminist theory in the latest from Claire Oshetsky, whose previous novel was named a "Best Book of 2024" by the New Yorker. Against the backdrop of 1970s San Francisco, the fantasy gets a little too real for a 19-year-old daydreamer and phone company employee. But don't worry, there's plenty of humor in between the murder." - Greta Rainbow, Bustle
"Oshetsky's novel deftly rattles toward an inevitable collision course for its characters. Readers who enjoy noir plots injected with comedy will enjoy." - Library Journal
"An enthralling, sharply funny, and unsettling read about abuse, murder, and desecrated Barbie dolls. Clever, biting, and impossible to put down." - Emily Austin, author of Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead
"In Evil Genius, Claire Oshetsky gives us the dark, brutal, and often hilarious voice of a character we see often, but so rarely get to hear from--the woman in a mid-20th century potboiler. Campy and exciting; surreal and sad. This is another stunner from a truly original writer." - Ainslie Hogarth, author of Motherthing
"Strange, savage, and so compelling, Evil Genius is a can't-stop-turning-the-pages story about murder and the phone company. Claire Oshetsky's singular voice brings Celia to crackling life, even as the people around her keep dropping dead." - Julia Phillips, author of Bear and Disappearing Earth
"Evil Genius will rip your lips in the best possible ways. This sly, understated, and disarmingly unhinged novel makes you love sharp Celia Dent as she spins deliriously out of control. Perfect for comic-horror girlies who read Moshfegh's Eileen and Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle and wanted more mayhem." - Chelsea G. Summers, author of A Certain Hunger