From Before Memory

A discontented great-grandmother unleashes chaos across post-apocalyptic California in this hilarious and moving adventure from the author of international bestseller Legend of a Suicide .

This scorching satire on power in America is Shirley Jackson's The Lottery meets Yorgos Lanthimos' The Lobster imagine a Mad Max caravan led by a bloodthirsty Betty White!

America in the near future is the same, but worse. There's no national or state government anymore. Only local authorities endure, and they barely function. The real glue holding what's left of society together is death. In this America, everyone who dies is celebrated in a lengthy, undeviating funeral rite led by the oldest member of their community.

Maxine is one such elder--99 years old and living in Lakeport, California. Dogged by chronic pain and burdened by grief, one day her discontent pushes her to change the words of the funeral rite and, contrary to her expectations, the entire community follows her lead. Maxine's rebellion begins to snowball, unleashing a spate of violence with consequences for the whole town, and eventually the country. Initially horrified, she's soon intoxicated by her new powers, and finds herself leading funeral rites that resemble political rallies or orgies of violence more than solemn ceremonies. When she launches a pilgrimage across the California desert, it triggers a confrontation with the remaining institutional forces of the country--a confrontation she may not survive.

A furiously funny satire on contemporary America, as well as a moving meditation on grief and how it binds us together, this utterly propulsive novel marks an exciting new departure from the author of international bestseller Legend of a Suicide .

David Vann is the author of a dozen works of fiction and non-fiction published in over 23 languages. His debut novel Legend of a Suicide won eleven literary awards, including the Prix Medicis Étranger and Premi Llibreter. He has written for the Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, The Guardian, The Financial Times, The New Statesman, and McSweeney's, among other periodicals. He is the recipient of Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Arts fellowships. Born in Alaska, he now divides his time between New Zealand, the Philippines and France.