AVALON

The new novel from one of America's most original voices - a wild, blackly funny story of female emancipation and the journey to one's own utopia.

Brans Southern California upbringing is anything but traditional. After her mother abandons her and joins a Buddhist colony, Bran is raised by her common-law stepfather on Bourdon Farms - a plant nursery that doubles as a cover for a biker gang. She spends her days tending plants, slogging through high school and imagining what life could be if she had been born to a different family.

And then she meets Peter-a charming, troubled college student from the East Coast-who launches his teaching career by initiating her into the world of art. The two begin a seemingly doomed long-distance relationship as Bran searches for meaning in her own surroundings. She knows how to survive, but now she must learn how to live.

'Zink is a comic writer par excellence.' New Yorker
'An extraordinary talent.' Daily Telegraph