People in the Room | Norah Lange, translated by Charlotte Whittle | 9781911508229 | And Other Stories | 08/21/2018 | Trade Paper | eBook Available
“People in the Room is all atmosphere. . . . Lange captures adolescent uncertainty—of what lies ahead, of what meaning there is in the adult that has been kept at a distance from her (death, sex)—and the fear of facing it convincingly authentically—right down to the continuing sense of uncertainty about it all.”—Complete Review, August 11, 2018
On August 6, Words Without Borders published an excerpt of Cesar Aira’s introduction to People in the Room. The excerpt was picked up by Vol. 1 Brooklyn’s Afternoon Bites.
“Hallucinatory and unsettling, the prose vibrates like a high-tension wire.”—Spectator, August 3, 2018
On August 2, People in the Room was included on Book Riot’s list of “Hot Summer 2018 reads by Women in Translation.
The Guardian highlighted Lange on August 2, in an article that was picked up by Lit Hub Daily on August 3.
“Lange, who spent so much of her life confronting a male gaze that invited her performance of the role of literary muse, truly came into her own by directing her gaze at muses of her own invention—and witnessing the play of her voracious attention across the pages of People in the Room is precisely what makes this strange, thrilling novel so utterly captivating.”—Music and Literature, July 19, 2018
The April 2018 issue of Words Without Borders excerpted People in the Room.
On August 13, People in the Room was included in the Guardian’s “What Are You Reading This Week” Instagram round-up.
“People in the Room is a lyrical portrait of adolescence that bridges the innocence of childhood and the unknown of adulthood.”—Foreword Reviews, September/October 2018
“Lange’s ability to magnify the tension of the uncertainty surrounding the sisters’ loneliness transforms this largely uneventful novel into a nerve-wracking ghost story.”—Publishers Weekly, June 25, 2018
“Readers who like unreliable protagonists and enjoy being kept on their toes will be up for the challenge.”—Booklist.com, June 22, 2018
“The writing is crisp and direct, in stark contrast to the intricate psychological darkness the narrator inhabits, and it leaves the reader questioning every detail. Unsettling and masterful, this short but dense novel should entice fans of literary giants like Virginia Woolf and Clarice Lispector.”—Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2018
“Lange deftly updates a classic fairy tale motif into this cryptic, telling, spellbinding piece of modernist writing.” —Laurie Greer, Politics & Prose, Washington, DC