'Death Valley' is a strange, playful and darkly comic novel exploring themes of family, illness and grief. The unnamed narrator, a 41-year-old writer, checks into a Best Western hotel in the Californian desert to work on her novel. Her father is in ICU while her husband has been suffering from an unknown chronic illness for the last decade or so. On a hike in the desert, the narrator encounters a large cactus which she is able to climb inside and then encounters her father as a child. She later returns to this trail but the cactus is no longer there and she soon finds herself lost and alone in the desert, fighting for survival.

This story is every bit as bizarre and surreal as it sounds (perhaps even more so) but what makes it such a terrific read is the narrative voice crafted by Melissa Broder (who seems to have quite a lot in common with her narrator - while the narrator's novel is about a woman who is also rather similar to the narrator and to Broder). Broder's wisecracking narrator is both acerbic and tender: I frequently laughed out loud while reading but there are also some deeply moving passages about love and pain. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC of this gloriously weird novel to review.

This weird little novel about an unnamed author on a writing retreat in the desert who get lost and spends time inside a cactus is pacy, with perfectly short chapters, but I did feel like it lacked something. Maybe some more background on the main character and her work, or more on the strange family dynamic between her and her mother and her hospitalised father and seriously ill husband. I’d even have liked to have spent more time inside the cactus.

we are so back! literally read the first page of this book & was reminded why I love Melissa Broder so much.

our protagonist’s dad is maybe dying in the ICU & her husband is suffering with a worsening chronic illness. so she takes off to the California desert to stay in a best western & work through things. on a hike she finds a giant cactus & uhhhh climbs inside it. things go off the rails from there.

there is no one else writing the way Melissa Broder is writing, she has such a clear voice that somehow manages to be warm even when it’s weird. or sad. or usually both simultaneously. loved it.

Once again Melissa Broder has proven that, if she writes it, I will read it and it will be fantastic. I really enjoyed Death Valley and think it's an excellent addition to her catalogue. Exactly what you want from Broder and she does not disappoint.

Melissa Broder never fails to deliver quirky, weird as fuck, but ultimately so intimate and loveable books. Chef's kiss!!!

*3.5 stars*

This book is incredibly, incredibly weird; even more so than The Pisces.

I've read both of Broder's previous novels and the literary surrealism of her novels has been taken to a whole new high. It's searing look at grief, dealing with chronic illness of family, changed marital relationships, and how this has affected our unnamed protagonist as a writer.

In a bit to escape and get out, she goes for a hike in the California desert and gets lost, leading to a desperate and hallucinatory survival story. It's definitely a novel of two halves, but the blurring lines of reality and sanity were a little much sometimes and i didn't fully connect with the novel as a whole.

I think that Melissa Broder is a fascinating writer and I'm always excited to see what she writes next.

I enjoyed the first half with its satire of American consumerism in all its Baudrillardian glory, and the impossibility of death in the mind of a living thing. But it lost me a bit once we got into the desert; I’m glad others got swept along by the fever dream, but I just couldn’t match the vibe.

A thoroughly intriguing concept, examining grief through the lens of modern pseudo-magical realism. But I just couldn't get fully invested in Broder's writing. While the depiction of the desert haze was the strongest aspect, I couldn't help but feel the characterisation let the foundations of the novel down somewhat. An interesting, often great, but flawed novel

This is my second book by Melissa Broder, I really enjoy her writing, she writes in a really sharp and humourous way. The main character of this book is a neurotic writer in her early 40s whose father is dying and whose husband is chronically ill.

I enjoyed getting to know her throughout her journey, inside a giant cactus, and then struggling through the desert. She is very self aware of her neuroses but this self knowledge doesn't really help or make her feel better (relatable!). You get a really good sense for what is going on inside her head, her feelings, and her fear of her feelings.

Was a bit surreal in places but this didn't really take me out of it. The story it told about grief, loss, and caring for others was well executed. Some of the bits in the desert dragged somewhat, and I'm not sure if the protagonist actually learned much from her journey, but at the same time perhaps it was more of a subtle shift of her being able to let go of some of her own guilt/shame which enabled her to connect on a deeper level with those she loved.

Overall, a quick and enjoyable read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

I’d never read anything by Melissa Broder before this and I’ve no idea why because her writing is something I want to live inside and absorb into my being. I know that Broder is known for writing “unhinged” fiction and I think that honestly that’s the perfect way to describe this book.

It’s funny to me that, being someone who is currently deep in the grieving process that I’m seeking books that discuss grief and death, but actually this book helped me rationalise some of my own emotions, both now and previous ones.

The way we are deeply embedded within the narrator’s brain as well as the desert (and a cactus) made me want to just devour this and I’m so glad that I’m only entering Broder’s world now, because I need to envelop myself in more of her wonderful fever dream fiction.

Weird, funny, surreal and a bit sad; what more could you want in a book?
Thank you Bloomsbury and Netgalley UK for the ARC. I’m making this Book of the Month in our store.

This book felt weird for me. I enter to it don’t knowing anything about the author and left it confused. It was a really bizarre and weird reading it wasn’t bad at all I dunno if that make sense in a way but I guess this is the effect of the book. Is raw, is haunting, is weird, and it make me very upset in a way. I like it was a exploration of grieve and how the human mind works and evolve in those conditions. Is definetly a WEIRD book

Broder does it again!
I love a weird book and Broder always manages to write something that is both weird but in a way that doesn't mess with your brain so that you don't want to read .
The book is essentially an exploration of grief . It's raw and dark yet uses her signature dry humour and wit , throw in talking rocks and bunnies and a giant cactus and that's all you need to know !
If you are a fan of Broder then this will not disappoint but if you are new to her work then I would maybe go with one of her other titles first as her style will not be for everyone .

Another winner for me !

Death Valley by Melissa Broder* is a fever dream in the best possible way. The unnamed protagonist, an author, is struggling to cope with her dying father and her chronically ill husband and takes off for the desert in search of some solace, inspiration and, it would seem, an escape from her emotions and the threat of death that surrounds her at all times.

She stumbles from a remote Best Western hotel to roadside diners to the unforgiving plains of Death Valley and, in true Broder fashion, provides pithy, acerbic commentary on the people (and things) she meets along the way. On one of her daily hikes, she encounters a mystical cactus that seems to be a portal for her to have conversations and feel feelings that she is otherwise incapable of in life. With one foot in the real world and another inside her cactus church, she becomes disoriented and lost in the desert and has to fight her way back to civilisation and herself.

This might sound bizarre, and it is, but it’s also an incredibly raw portrayal of grief and love in the face of death and illness. It is funny and irreverent and emotional and relatable.

Every now and then I feel like reading a weird book. The thing is that it's really hard to find a 'weird' book that is the right amount of weird. Melissa Broder always has the right amount of weird in her books. That kind of weirdness that makes you want to read more and more.

If you're looking for a book that feels like a wild fever dream - this one is for you.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I haven’t read anything from this author before but the premise really appealed to me. Death Valley is a bizarre and at times extremely weird read, but in a good way! It’s quite honestly like nothing I have read before. It’s a bit like Alice in Wonderland but instead of a rabbit hole there’s a cactus and Alice is a middle aged woman struggling with her anxieties whilst coming to terms with death and consumed with grief. I probably haven’t sold it with my review but if you’re into the weird and wonderful, pick this one up! 😊

I feel like I can’t really explain what the feeling of reading this book was like.

Visceral and haunting, a beautiful and gut-wrenching depiction of grief.

I keep coming back to thinking about it weeks later.

I’ve reviewed Death Valley for book recommendation and selling site LoveReading.co.uk.
I’ve chosen it as a Liz Pick of the month and a LoveReading Star Book. See link for full review.

Three books in and Melissa Broder is an auto-read for me now. She has that great quality of being the same in each book, even though the books themselves are wildly different. 'The same' being weird, funny, too much, a bit cringe, brilliant.

The 'plot' is pretty simple on the plain of realism, and extremely not-simple otherwise. The protagonist has many feelings about her dying father and chronically ill, disabled and possibly-also-dying husband. There is a horny cactus, talking rocks, and beautifully-coloured rabbits. That's basically all you need to know.

My thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

Wow. I knew this book was going to get weird, after reading Milk Fed, but damn this was weird. I was just willing it to go further and further off the edge, and honestly it itched my brain. The entire book was a brain itch. This is literally the highest compliment I can give.
At its heart, this book is a wonderful and raw exploration of grief and how the human mind deals with grief, or doesn't deal. I absolutely devoured it from start to finish and I want to read it again. Delicious.