The Body in Question

Praise

“A fantastic rendering of female desire . . . Few writers can tackle the bedroom—or female libido . . . but Ciment is a master: in exquisitely spare prose, she nails it.” 
—Penelope Green, The New York Times

“[The] deft orchestration of absurdity and existential dread distinguishes Ciment’s style. That’s why the situation of Ciment’s latest novel, The Body in Question, is so perfectly suited to her powers as a novelist . . . incisive . . . a profound story about mortality and the mysteries of human behavior . . . smart and disturbing.” 
—Maureen Corrigan, NPR

“Engaging, empathetic . . . This honest, mature look at life and love adds to a growing body of evidence leading to a decisive verdict: Ciment is an author well worth reading.” 
—Kirkus (starred review)

“Stark and absorbing . . . scathingly funny . . . a smart, compact, refreshingly unsentimental exploration of the persistence of desire amid the fact of death.” 
— The Wall Street Journal

“Excellent . . . short and brisk, propelled by the suspense of multiple questions . . . deft and gripping.”
—Curtis Sittenfeld, The New York Times
 
“Stunningly concise. . . . Pulled me in right off the first page. It’s a bravura performance, Ciment exercising almost flamboyant control of her material.”
—Emily Donaldson, The Globe and Mail (Canada)
 
“Ciment . . . a virtuoso of the situational novel, has created a hypnotizing, forked tale of trust and guilt, masks and doubling, lies and desire, life and death.”
—Booklist
 
“Intriguing, swift-moving. . . . This novel will hook readers with its powerful, magnetic narrative.”
—Publishers Weekly

“This book’s lean style and cool tone shape an unsentimental story with unexpected depths. . . . Ciment gives her story a series of wicked twists, some thrilling, some heart-wrenching.”
—The Tampa Bay Times