Pretend I'm Dead

A Novel

NAMED A BEST BOOK of the YEAR by O, THE OPRAH MAGAZINE, REFINERY 29, and KIRKUS REVIEWS
SHORTLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE

The “wondrous” (O, The Oprah Magazine), “scathingly funny” (Entertainment Weekly) debut from Whiting Award winner and author of Big Swiss Jen Beagin about a cleaning lady named Mona and her quest for self-acceptance.

Jen Beagin’s funny, moving, fearless debut novel introduces an unforgettable character, Mona—almost twenty-four, emotionally adrift, and cleaning houses to get by. She falls for a man she calls Mr. Disgusting, who proceeds to break her heart in unimaginable ways.

In search of healing, she decamps to Taos, New Mexico, for a fresh start, where she finds a community of cast-offs, all of whom have something to teach her—the pajama-wearing, blissed-out New Agers, the slightly creepy client with peculiar tastes in controlled substances, the psychic who might really be psychic. But always lurking just beneath the surface are her memories of growing up in a chaotic, destructive family from which she’s trying to disentangle herself, and the larger legacy of the past.

The story of Mona’s quest for belonging in this world is at once hilarious and wonderfully strange, true to life and boldly human, and introduces a stunning, one-of-a-kind new voice in American fiction.

A lightened taste of reality

Corky, dark humor. A addicting storyline and can’t wait to read the sequel. One of my favorite audiobooks ever.

funny but with hidden depth

it’s dark. it has humor (largely through our protagonist Mona) but I believe the book is really about trauma. when I finished I immediately wanted to start over, listening with the knowledge I had from the end as it would inform a lot of what happens at the beginning. I guess I’m saying there are layers and hidden depth.

Funny

could have had a more developed narrative but overall was good book to listen to also one of my favorite narrators.

I Thought I Was Just in for Some Cheeky Narrative...but there is so much more

I enjoyed the humor of this book and I was assuming that their was not much of the typical plot. I believe that the ending tied things together very well. This is worth the journey.

best writer

another perfect book. i listened to big swiss last week, which is also perfection. pretend i’m dead is a portrait of an artist. beagin uses literature to weave story with perception and self awareness. these are the kind of books i like best. beagin is a genius and a true freak and palpably inventively honest.