The Perishing

An Entropy Best Book of the Year A supple exploration of life in 1930s Los Angeles as well as a moving meditation on the Black American experience in the 20th century . . . Deon's prose is beautiful, and the voice animating The Perishing is heartfelt . . . A vibrant, immersive world that's worth spending time in, learning and remembering. -Amal El-Mohtar, The New York Times Book Review Pick this one up and I promise . . . you will not be able to put it down -Shay Mitchell, Book of the Month Vivid and thrilling. -Annabel Gutterman, TIME The salient beauty of The Perishing is that [it] grapple[s] with what it is like to be inside bodies in extremis, on the edge of risk. Deon attend[s] to the body as a locus of power or its absence: how bodies relate to objects in space, how they feel, how they are given voice-or not-within a place. -Anita Fellicelli, Alta Is it sci-fi? Is it historical fiction? Mystery? Yes! And it's unique, wondrous and brilliant. -Karla Strand, Ms. The Perishing . . . plays like its own genre-lyrical strangeness. -Christopher Borelli, Chicago Tribune Natashia Deon's critically acclaimed debut novel, Grace, ushered in a brand-new literary talent whose fans have been waiting five long years to see what she would do next. It's clear within the first few pages of her new novel, The Perishing, that the wait has been well worth it . . . The Perishing is a downright masterpiece. Welcome to the world of literary stardom, Natashia Deon. -Scott Neumyer, Shondaland Alongside authors who have portrayed Black Los Angeles with imaginative, complex soul-from Octavia Butler to Venita Blackburn-Deon has subverted the fantastic in the most satisfying of ways -Jason Parham, WIRED The Perishing is a startling, luminous love letter to Los Angeles and one of the best books of 2021. -Adam Morgan, The A.V. Club History repeats itself on a personal level in this time-travel novel from Natashia Deon . . . The book is a fascinating and thrilling mystery, but for Deon, it's also a commentary on the frustrating cycles of injustice that have yet to crack. -Rosa Cartagena, Bitch An intoxicating blend of sci-fi and historical fiction, The Perishing is a unique perspective on Depression-era life for a Black woman, time traveler or not. -Kirby Beaton, BuzzFeed This marriage of period lit and science fiction will plug the Lovecraft Country sized hole in your heart. -Keyaira Boone, Essence Haunting and beautiful. -Danielle Broadway, Black Girl Nerds The Perishing is full of language that is accomplishing multiple feats at once. One of which is being able to capture the visceral and emotional backdrop of a moment that translates throughout the book . . . As Lou learns more about how to exist in her body, and the many bodies of the lives that follow, she establishes a voice that, like Deon's, is too powerful to ever be forgotten. -Aaron Coats, Chicago Review of Books A dark, gritty and slow-burning mystery . . . Deon's writing is beautiful, with a rat-a-tat quality, like brutal poetry mixed with fierce prose. -Carole V. Bell, BookPage Who are we, if not the sum of our experiences? If the body keeps score, how is history written on our flesh? Natashia Deon's time-bending novel, The Perishing, artfully considers these questions and more . . . Deon's cultural observations are as sharp and arresting as her use of descriptive language. Physical places, like people, have character, distinct features that speak to the life (or lack thereof) within . . . The Perishing is not a novel that's largely preoccupied with the physical mechanics of time travel. Instead, time travel is a device used to examine philosophical questions that are embedded in mankind's search for meaning. -Vanessa Willoughby, Literary Hub Tantalizing, intoxicating, and fantastical . . . Deon creates a haunting and atmospheric tale of immortality and mystery grounded in Black history and tradition. -Booklist (starred review)