Morgan Talty’s debut novel Fire Exit has an unmistakable pace that leaves you as unsettled as the main character, Charles Lamosway. This story about grief and mental illness is woven around struggles to understand family, both biological and nurtured. Brilliantly written, Fire Exit bears witness to what a birthright and culture mean when you were denied what felt like home.
Fire Exit by Morgan Talty, (List Price: $28.95, Tin House Books, 9781959030553, June 2024)
Reviewed by Rachel Watkins, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia