Generation Loss (novel)

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Generation Loss
Generation Loss.jpg
First edition
Author Elizabeth Hand
Cover artistJacob McMurray
LanguageEnglish
Publisher Small Beer Press
Publication date
2007
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Hardcover & Paperback)
Pages300
ISBN 978-0-156-03134-9

Generation Loss is a 2007 novel by American writer Elizabeth Hand.

Contents

Reception

Generation Loss was generally well received by critics, including a starred review from Booklist [1] and Publishers Weekly . [2]

Booklist's David Pitt called the protagonist "utterly compelling" and noted that the novel is "brilliantly written and completely original." [1]

Describing the novel, Publishers Weekly wrote about how Hand "explores the narrow boundary between artistic genius and madness in this gritty, profoundly unsettling literary thriller." [2] In addition to other praise, they noted that "the novel's final chapters [...] are a terror tour-de-force that testify to the power of great fiction to disturb and provoke." [2]

The Washington Post's Lloyd Rose stated that the novel's "portrayal of gritty suffering is as strong as its fantastical elements". [3]

A few reviewers commented on the writing style and genre conventions. Pitt highlighted how the novel "veers off in a new and exciting direction [from science fiction], drawing on but going well beyond the crime genre." [1] Graham Joyce, writing for The Washington Post , noted, "Generation Loss is a crossover novel, difficult to classify, uncomfortable, spiky. Hand is one of those writers who has challenged the restrictions of genre writing. Here, she both fights with and against the conventions of the thriller genre to get at an evil deeper than its mere perpetrator. [...] So although Generation Loss moves like a thriller, it detonates with greater resound. It's a dark and beautiful novel that should not be read by anyone under the age of 30." [4]

Awards

Generation Loss won the inaugural Shirley Jackson Award. [5] It was also shortlisted for the Believer Book Award. [6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Pitt, David (May 1, 2007). "Generation Loss". Booklist . Archived from the original on July 17, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Generation Loss by Elizabeth Hand". Publishers Weekly . February 19, 2007. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  3. ↑ Rose, Lloyd (June 9, 2010). "Elizabeth Hand's 'Illyria,' about a pair of young, theatrical lovers". The Washington Post . ISSN   0190-8286. Archived from the original on May 9, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  4. ↑ Joyce, Graham (May 6, 2007). "Road to Ruin". The Washington Post . ISSN   0190-8286. Archived from the original on April 14, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  5. ↑ Hand, Elizabeth (August 10, 2008). "Love Bites". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on December 20, 2017. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  6. ↑ "The Believer Book Award 2007 finalists". The Believer. March–April 2008. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
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