“The ritual at the heart of this story reveals the complex nature of love that we are all capable of giving, receiving, and shunning. Nourishing gardens, dark family secrets, and an intense coming-of-age are elegantly crafted in Malasarn’s evocative and emotionally precise debut.”—Marytza Rubio, author of Maria, Maria: And Other Stories
“The opening pages of Malasarn’s debut promise an empathetic read about siblings, place, and queer identity. He writes with lush prose that wraps readers up.”—Debutiful
“The Outer Country is about family and migration, which is to say it’s about haunting, and betrayal, and love, and dedication, and the vast distances the heart must travel to reach, and keep, a sense of home. Haunting, gentle, gorgeously composed, here is both a book of demons and a book of uncommon grace; an instant classic in the queer canon. Davin Malasarn is an exquisite writer of the heart.”—Justin Torres, author of Blackouts
“From its stark opening to its pitch-perfect ending, Davin Malasarn’s empathetic yet unsentimental novel The Outer Country follows the members of an immigrant family in their attempts to negotiate both life in America and their conflicting needs for love. Without playing favorites, Malasarn shows us each character’s mix of pride and pain, so we can see where they’re coming from, even when they can’t see where they’re going to. This is an impressively sure-handed debut.”—David Gates, author of Jernigan