Every so often, a book utterly defies your expectations of what a novel can and should do. Heartland is longtime playwright and lesbian activist Ana Simo's debut novel, which was a finalist for the first Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing. Don't be fooled by the seemingly safe and centered title: Heartland is a murder mystery turned inside out, mixing the styles of telenovela and pulp noir, set in a dystopian dark mirror of our society in which government corruption has led to mass starvation in the heartland and a nationwide refugee crisis. Our heroine is a luckless writer who becomes obsessed with eliminating from the face of the earth her rival in love—but her homicidal masterplan becomes more ornate than a baroque symphony.
The New York Times Book Review calls it "hilariously absurd and profane"—which seems fitting for our not-so-hilariously absurd and profane times. It’s also a searching exploration of America’s conflicted attitudes toward race, assimilation, and sexual mores. We hope you "heart" it as much as we do! And be sure to catch Ana in person at these upcoming live events:
McNally Jackson
