The Bombshell
by Darrow Farr
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Pub Date 5 Jun 2025 | Archive Date 8 Jun 2025
Atlantic Books | Atlantic Fiction
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Description
Corsica, 1993. Seventeen-year-old Séverine Guimard knows in her heart that it's only a matter of time before she'll escape this provincial island for Hollywood's glimmering lights. Until then, she'll spend her days listening to "What is Love" on her Walkman, smoking cigarettes, and riding her bike at dusk along the picturesque roads that wind around her parents' gated villa.
That is until three masked men emerge from an idling car, tear her from her bike, duct tape her mouth and wrists, and take her somewhere hidden from prying eyes...
Séverine's face will be plastered all over newspapers and TV, but not for the reason you think.
How does one kidnapped young woman become the face of a revolution?
Advance Praise
'A lush, cinematic and propulsive novel filled with sex, violence, glamour and a true revolutionary spirit. It's a towering literary achievement' Adam Johnson, Pulitzer Prize winner
'An electrifying exploration of personal and political revolution, The Bombshell is a complex, unflinching portrait of youthful transformation and the dangerous allure of fame that announces Darrow Farr as an exciting new voice to watch' Gabriela Garcia, New York Times bestselling author of Of Women and Salt
'What a sexy, kinetic and dazzling novel this is, full of lust for life and ideas and the fecund dreams of youth. I was completely seduced by the brio of its unlikely revolutionary hero.... An amazing, unforgettable novel' Chang-rae Lee, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of My Year Abroad
Available Editions
EDITION | Hardcover |
ISBN | 9781805462613 |
PRICE | £17.99 (GBP) |
PAGES | 416 |
Links
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews

This read like a cult classic movie, with such vivid characters and settings. Séverine was such an interesting and well written character to center the story around. Her ability to wrap men around her finger was fascinating to read about, especially how she was able to essentially spin her own kidnapping into a political revolution. I found some of the political talks a little repetitive, but overall I really felt the heat and violence of the revolution.
The third act of the novel was particularly well written. Séverine’s struggle to understand her younger self, her relationship with Bruno and her daughter’s life was such a clever addition to this story. Farr could have ended the book with her escape to America, but by providing the reader with a glimpse into the life she built for herself, we were able to truly understand who she was despite her explosive teenage summer. A stand out, impressive and sizzling story.

This is a cleverly examination of shifting loyalties, political awareness and the reasons why someone might adopt a radical course of action. The book opens with a terrifying kidnap and then morphs into something else. It's well written and psychologically attuned. It's a fascinating premise to consider how someone in history like Patti Hearst might have felt and why she behaved as she did
At the heart of the book is also a love story, as well as a strong and compelling character study of a singular young woman.
There were a few occasions where the political context bogged the story down a little for me but this wasn't egregious.