The Water Cure

"This disconcerting debut novel has been showered with praise and accolades this year, and rightly so. Three sisters come of age on a remote island, in thrall to parental teaching that the outside world will cause them irreparable harm. Reminiscent of that strange film Dogtooth , which I also loved, it’s a bewildering and disturbing fable that will appeal to those who enjoy ‘feminist dystopia’ fiction like The Handmaid’s Tale and The Power . This smart, self-deprecating novel is a thinly veiled portrait of the author as he struggles with imposter syndrome (verging on a total breakdown) during a prestigious fellowship overseas. Merciless in his forensic analysis of social interaction and his skewering of his own pretension, it’s also a clever exploration what can be lost and found in translation between two languages and cultures."