Beta Vulgaris

A Novel

By: Margie Sarsfield

Narrated by: Ellen Archer

One of Literary Hub's Most Anticipated Books of 2025

One of The Millions' Most Anticipated Books of Winter 2025

A young woman’s seasonal job working a sugar beet harvest takes a surreal turn in this surprising and vivid debut.

Elise and her boyfriend, Tom, set off for Minnesota, hoping the paycheck from the sugar beet harvest will cover the rent on their Brooklyn apartment. Amidst the grueling work and familiar anxieties about her finances, Elise starts noticing strange things: threatening phone calls, a mysterious rash, and snatches of an ominous voice coming from the beet pile.

When Tom and other coworkers begin to vanish, Elise is left alone to confront the weight of her past, the horrors of her uncertain future, and the menacing but enticing siren song of the beets. Biting, eerie, and confidently told, Beta Vulgaris harnesses a distinct voice and audacious premise to undermine straightforward narratives of class, trauma, consumption, and redemption.

©2025 Margie Sarsfield (P)2025 Audible Inc.

WOW

WOW…this was insane in ways I both expected and did not expect. MASSIVE content warning for eating disorders, calorie counting, contamination obsessions, lots of wild OCD fantasies. This was amazing, though.

I loved how this novel played out!

This is one of those stories that just sticks in your head for a while after reading. I loved every minute of it.

The awful personality of the main character.

This was such a waste of hours. I kept on listening because I paid money for this book and was hoping it would get better. It did not. The moaning and whining of the lead was insufferable. And I don’t think it was supposed to be insufferable. And the book was in a horror category. There was nothing horrible about it no scares just a little bit of confusion and a whole lot of whining. I’m so disappointed.

Vulgar & depressing

I found this book to be vulgar, depressing, and not satisfying. The stream of consciousness writing style was frustrating and annoying, though realistic and fair. I would not recommend it. I will be avoiding this author. The narrator/reader
performance was excellent though.