Chaotic and relentless in the best way possible, Agnes Lives! Follows the internal dialogue of Agnes for 24 hours as she seeks a candidate to kill her. This has the pacing of Uncut Gems (the 2019 Safdie Bros. film) combined with the psychological intrigue of an insatiable inner monologue, like in Elif Batuman’s The Idiot. Agnes Lives! explores themes of self-worth and self-indulgence in a pitiless world that demands women be everything to everyone at all times, highlighting the push and pull of embracing or rejecting those demands. Said demands push Agnes to the absolute extremes. This is a literary thriller that all strange book lovers are going to devour. I loved it!
Agnes Lives! by Hallie Elizabeth Newton, (List Price: $26.99, Bloomsbury Publishing, 9781639738564, June 2026)
Reviewed by Jenny, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, NC