HUFFINGTON POST, Starred Review ✪
"The rapturous advance praise for Cherise Wolas’ assured meta debut, The Resurrection of Joan Ashby, doesn’t do it justice. This ambitious first novel introduces us to an elusive artist with a stratospheric cult following—only to unravel her life, as the blessings of divine inspiration battle the curse of earthly love. Lawyer and film producer Wolas has forged an audacious balancing act whose betrayals come from the least expected corners, submerging readers in a dazzling universe we hate to leave." Read Full Review
KIRKUS REVIEWS, Starred Review
“Like John Irving’s The World According to Garp, this is a look at the life of a writer that will entertain many nonwriters. Like Lauren Groff’s Fates and Furies, it’s a sharp-eyed portrait of the artist as spouse and householder. From the start, one wonders how Wolas is possibly going to pay off the idea that her heroine is such a genius. Verdict: few could do better.” Read Full Review
BOOKLIST, Starred Review
“Deftly exploring themes of sibling rivalry and individualism and layering short stories within the larger narrative, this breathtaking…novel will do for motherhood what Gone Girl did for marriage. ‘A story requires two great things: a great story to tell and the bravery to tell it,” Joan observes. Wolas’ debut expertly checks off both boxes.” Read Full Review
NANTUCKET MAGAZINE
7 FOR SEPTEMBER
"I will never pass up a book about books and the craft of writing them. Everyone will find a little bit of themselves in Joan Ashby as she struggles with parenthood over career, selflessness over selfishness. The stories with in the main story are an added touch to get in the mind of this fictional author who is too real on the page to not actually exist." Read Full Article
LITERARY HUB
FOURTEEN BOOKS TO READ THIS AUGUST
“Resurrection wrestles with parenthood and the artist’s life from a female perspective, in ways no writer has attempted since Woolf….You will not come away unchanged, and you will continue to think about Joan Ashby’s path long after…. A masterful…debut novel that dares to consider whether becoming a mother is worth it, or not.” Read Full Review
BARNES & NOBLE
AUGUST’S BEST NEW FICTION
“Wolas’ powerhouse debut novel promises to take readers on an emotional ride, while tackling questions about the ways in which women are sometimes forced to choose between love of family and self-actualization.” Read Full Review
SHELF AWARENESS
AUGUST 3, 2017
“The Resurrection of Joan Ashby is Wolas's astonishing debut. She effectively uses an innovative structure, opening the novel with a piece ("(Re) Introducing Joan Ashby") in the fictitious Literature magazine, and following it with two of Ashby's short stories. This brilliant technique allows Wolas simultaneously to introduce her own literary talents through Ashby's. In doing so, she seemingly transforms the latter into an empathetic contemporary. The result is a hunger for more of Wolas's work. Here's hoping her new fans are spared the fate of Ashby's readers, with a wait that is fewer than 28 years.” Read Full Review
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
THIRTEEN BOOKS TO READ IN AUGUST
The Resurrection of Joan Ashby by Cherise Wolas is one of Entertainment Weekly's "books you need to devour in August." Read Full Article
SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE
YOUR BOOK SHELF: 5 BOOKS TO READ IN AUGUST
A curated list of the month's top reads from San Diego Magazine. Read Full Article
SOUTHERN LIVING
NEW FALL BOOKS TO READ
“Love and betrayal and expectation, all encapsulated in the story of one woman, Joan Ashby, and the surprises and disappointments of her life. Wolas’ debut turns a critical and perceptive eye onto the complications and expectations of marriage. It’s also gorgeously written. Get into it." Read Full Article