NOVELS
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THE RESURRECTION OF JOAN ASHBY
2018 Fresh Voices selection, WHSmith
BookPage's 11 Women to Watch in 2018 Longlisted for 2018 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction Kirkus Reviews' Best Fiction of 2017 Kirkus Reviews' Best Debut Novels of 2017 Booklist's Top 10 First Novels of 2017 The New York Times Book Review’s Editors’ Choice An Indie Next Great Reads Pick Bookbrowse Editors' Choice
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That I got so worked up about a person who doesn’t exist is a testament to Wolas’ success in creating a complex and distinct fictional character. Joan Ashby is like no writer I have ever encountered; I’m sure, if she were real, she would be pleased to hear it.
—The New York Times Book Review 
An audacious balancing act whose betrayals come from the least expected corners, submerging readers in a dazzling universe we hate to leave.
—Huffington Post, starred review 
A startlingly self-assured debut novel spanning decades and rendered in luminous prose throughout…A deeply feminist novel, but one free of didacticism and ideological baggage.
—The Toronto Star 
A stunning debut novel…a wealth of superb writing, mature insights, and breathtaking risks....A rare book such as this comes along only once in a long while.
—New York Journal of Books 
An extraordinary, assured and deeply involving novel about marriage, motherhood, sacrifice and the creative impulse. Highly recommended.
—Daily Mail, UK 
Breathtaking.
'A story requires two things: a great story to tell and the bravery to tell it,’ Joan observes. Wolas’ debut expertly checks off both boxes. —Booklist, starred review 
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.
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review 
Debut author Wolas' sure hand applies layer upon layer of precisely meshed poetic and cinematic scenes to realize a life of such quiet majesty and original consideration of family interplay that she does the impossible.
Readers not only will mourn coming to the end, they will feel compelled to start over to watch the miracle of this novel unfold again. Breathtaking. —Library Journal, starred review 
It’s almost impossible to believe that The Resurrection of Joan Ashby…is the first novel by Cherise Wolas. Gorgeously written and completely captivating, the book spans decades and continents, deftly capturing the tug so many women feel between motherhood and self-identity.
—BookPage 
Wolas’ debut turns a critical and perceptive eye onto the complications and expectations of marriage. It’s also gorgeously written. Get into it.
—Southern Living 
You will not come away unchanged, and you will continue to think about Joan Ashby’s path long after you put down this debut novel that dares to consider whether becoming a mother is worth it, or not.
—Lit Hub 
Astonishing…innovative…brilliant.
—Shelf Awareness Pro 
The scope of The Resurrection of Joan Ashby, the breadth of its engagement with the reader, the impressive realization of its ambitious literary character, all resonated so deeply that the pages of other books offered naught but hollow echoes. Not only has Wolas succeeded in creating a character presented as a literary icon, complete with accompanying primary text, but she powerfully engages the reader through an exploration of personal identity.
—Publishers Weekly’s Shelf Talker 
A tour de force.
The literary equivalent of Athena springing fully formed from the head of Zeus. —Kirkus Review’s Fully Booked podcast 
Remarkable. Joan Ashby is every woman.
The power in the artistry of Wolas’ empathetic and resonant portrait of Joan Ashby, a woman who struggles every day to understand herself and to live the life that is true and authentic for her. —Full Stop 
Astonishing…
A gorgeous read, big and bold, intelligent and thought-provoking… an incredible book that reads nothing like a debut, so self-assured the writing, so expansive and wholly immersive the plot. —Independent, Ireland 
Everyone will find a bit of themselves in Joan Ashby,
as she struggles with parenthood over career, selflessness over selfishness. The stories within the main story...get into the mind of this fiction author who is too real on the page to not actually exist. —Bustle 
A stunning debut—because there is nothing debut about it.
It arrives so fully realized that it stuns as it entertains, as it twirls the reader on the sharp point of a #2 pencil. Ashby is so well rendered that I found myself jealous of her (and Wolas) and also wishing she were my best friend and that we had a standing drinks date. Wolas is singular in her voice—and yet the delicacy, the specificity reminds me of my most favorite authors: J.D. Salinger, Carson McCullers, Truman Capote, Joan Didion. —A.M. Homes, New York Times bestselling author of May We Be Forgiven, winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction 
This is the kind of book that pulls you under and you go willingly.
And when it’s over, you come up for air and see anew. In giving us the story of one woman’s struggle to write her own life, Wolas captures worlds in worlds here, and lives in lives. As many currents run in a single river, The Resurrection of Joan Ashby is rich and wide, and deep. —Sarah Blake, New York Times bestselling author of The Postmistress 
An audacious and dynamic first novel. The Resurrection of Joan Ashby is a remarkable tapestry of literary skill, emotional insight, and sensational storytelling.
—Ivy Pochoda, author of Wonder Valley and Visitation Street |
