{"product_id":"helen-of-nowhere-9781804272206","title":"Helen of Nowhere","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn electrifying novel about the delights and dangers of starting over. 2026 Booker Prize Longlist!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the middle of the countryside, a realtor is showing a disgraced professor around an idyllic house. She speaks not only about the home's many wonderful qualities but about its previous owner, the mystifying Helen, whose presence still seems to suffuse every fixture. Through hearing stories of Helen's chosen way of living, the man begins to see that his story is not actually over - rather, he is being offered a chance to buy his way into the simple life, close to the land, that's always been out of reach to him. But as evening fades into black, he will learn that the asking price may be much higher, and stranger, than anticipated. Philosophically and formally adventurous, at once intimate and cosmic in scope, Helen of Nowhere asks: What must we give up in exchange for true happiness?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ch4\u003eDetails\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eISBN13: 9781804272206\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNumber of Pages: 168\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdition: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication Date: 02 Jun 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublisher: Fitzcarraldo Editions\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication City, Country: London, United Kingdom\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions (cm): 19.7(H)x12.5(L)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeight (gm): \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h4\u003eMakenna Goodman is the author of two novels, Helen of Nowhere and The Shame, and has written for international publications including the New York Review of Books, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Harvard Review, The White Review, BOMB, The Common, ASTRA Magazine and Mousse Magazine. Also an editor, she is based in Vermont.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ch4\u003eReviews\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Wildly original… unpredictable and funny…. Is \u003cem\u003eHelen of Nowhere\u003c\/em\u003e a ghost story? A satire about back-to-the-land philosophies? A comedy about male obsolescence? Or, conversely, a skewering of woke identity politics? Perhaps it’s just a fable about burn-out or the human hunger for love. It could be all of these…. This is fiction that will sharpen your attention to the world, make it more intense. It reminds us that we don’t have to understand or like everything about a book to get something out of it. In fact, allowing ourselves to feel stimulated and perplexed feels like intellectual freedom and an awakening of human potential.’\u003cbr\u003e — Johanna Thomas-Corr, \u003cem\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Despite how fabular \u003cem\u003eHelen of Nowhere\u003c\/em\u003e seems in its progression, these kinds of narratorial shifts between Man, Realtor, Helen and ultimately Wife are dexterously, meticulously performed. They help enact a carefully negotiated dialectic: doing v taking, buying v selling, the individual v community, man v nature, dominance v support, masculine v feminine…. Goodman’s book is a perfect fairytale for our times.’\u003cbr\u003e — Jo Hamya, \u003cem\u003eGuardian\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Is it possible for a man to truly change? \u003cem\u003eHelen of Nowhere\u003c\/em\u003e, the second novel from the American author Makenna Goodman, dramatizes this timeworn question to honest and hilarious effect…. [T]he energy of the novel, with its characters’ loopy digressions and riffs on everything from helicopter parenting to the role of pesticides in modern farming, is closest to the work of the Austrian novelist Thomas Bernhard. Goodman’s ending is a stroke of genius, a triumph of what Bernhard once referred to as a suffering mind’s “inner landscape”.’\u003cbr\u003e — Abhrajyoti Chakraborty, \u003cem\u003eObserver\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘[T]he ideas at work in this exhilarating and surprising novel are far from limited to the low-hanging fruit of campus misogyny, and the narrative soon gives way to meditations on truth and identity…. The incantatory second half of the novel raises compelling and resonant questions about how we see ourselves and others in our present moment of atomization and disconnection.’\u003cbr\u003e — Arin Keeble, \u003cem\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘\u003cem\u003eHelen of Nowhere\u003c\/em\u003e is unlike any other fiction – unique in its blend of surrealism, philosophy and satire – while also raising questions about feminism, success, marriage and sacrifice. Every single sentence works hard and yet reads effortlessly. Brilliant.’ \u003cbr\u003e — Martha Alexander, \u003cem\u003eAnOther\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Beautifully written with a poetic, intriguing rhythm.’\u003cbr\u003e — Markie Robson-Scott, \u003cem\u003eArts Desk\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Virtuosically written, with an insanity inside its sanity – or the other way around – that seems the proper use to make of reality in this moment.’\u003cbr\u003e — Rachel Cusk, author of \u003cem\u003eParade\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘\u003cem\u003eHelen of Nowhere\u003c\/em\u003e is one of the most surprising novels I’ve ever read. Goodman has found a unique way of blending political urgency and psychological insight with an almost hallucinatory spiritual dimension that manages to strike the reader as perfectly justified, deeply funny and profoundly true.’\u003cbr\u003e — Vincenzo Latronico, author of \u003cem\u003ePerfection\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Goodman has wrought an epic in miniature, somehow as appealingly vast as a Greek tragedy or a Platonic dialogue, equal parts philosophy and art that's also delightfully wicked, like something from a fairytale or a fever dream.’ \u003cbr\u003e — Sarah Manguso, author of \u003cem\u003eLiars\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘This is a wild and brave book! Intrepid, reconfiguring, and full of the best hauntings. In \u003cem\u003eHelen of Nowhere\u003c\/em\u003e, Goodman has daringly crafted toothsome characters you will devour.’\u003cbr\u003e — Samantha Hunt, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Unwritten Book\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘A furious energy runs through \u003cem\u003eHelen of Nowhere\u003c\/em\u003e, whose every sentence is a joy to read. This is a book about loneliness and bitterness written with a wicked humor, and its moments of grace are as striking as they are enigmatic. A unique and brilliant work.’\u003cbr\u003e — Ayşegül Savaş, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Anthropologists\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Never have I read a book before that seemed to me so much like a dream, both utterly strange and somehow my own. A jolt, a bracing gasp of air, this is a novel for anybody who has had the thought recently that all contemporary fiction is the same.’\u003cbr\u003e — Polly Barton, author of \u003cem\u003ePorn: An Oral History\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘\u003cem\u003eHelen of Nowhere\u003c\/em\u003e expands one's sense of how a novel can be written.’\u003cbr\u003e — Sheila Heti, author of \u003cem\u003eAlphabetical Diaries\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Uncanny and brilliant in its voicing of power and control, excellent on what it means to come face to face with one's own hubris, be that literary, philosophical or embodied. An intimate and immersive tour de force by a writer with a fearless style.’\u003cbr\u003e —Preti Taneja, author of \u003cem\u003eAftermath\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘A hallucinatory closet drama.’\u003cbr\u003e — Merve Emre, \u003cem\u003eGranta\u003c\/em\u003e Books of the Year\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Blending biting wit and gorgeous, lyrical prose, \u003cem\u003eHelen of Nowhere\u003c\/em\u003e is at once a modern satire summoning Dickens in \u003cem\u003eA Christmas Carol\u003c\/em\u003e, an exploration of the failures of second wave feminism, and a sneaky ode to Woolf and Thoreau. It’s hard to pin down what this book is exactly, and whether or not Helen is Jesus, a furniture maker, god, the house, a wife, or time itself. Which is why you must restart it the moment you turn the last haunting page.’\u003cbr\u003e — Alexandra Auder, author of \u003cem\u003eDon't Call Me Home\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e‘Helen of Nowhere\u003c\/em\u003e is an extraordinary book, gripping, daring and unusual. With a pacing that completely swept me along, Goodman explores the need to steady oneself by valuing that which is dear, by taking care of the love that needs to be nourished. The trajectory through anger into healing feels like a real journey in time – the dialogue flashing past, written with such speed and brilliance. I wolfed it down.’\u003cbr\u003e — Celia Paul, author of \u003cem\u003eLetters to Gwen John\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Makenna Goodman","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49279503696089,"sku":"9781804272206","price":29.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0502\/9530\/8441\/files\/9781804272206.jpg?v=1789818539","url":"https:\/\/www.arielbooks.com.au\/products\/helen-of-nowhere-9781804272206","provider":"Ariel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}