Ask Me Again

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Pub Date 23 Jan 2025 | Archive Date 23 Jan 2025

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Description

‘Beautiful . . . Clare Sestanovich is a writer of disarming radiance’ Garth Greenwell

From Clare Sestanovich, the acclaimed author of short story collection Objects of Desire, Ask Me Again is a debut novel about a young woman’s coming of age, in parallel with a renegade male friend who challenges her beliefs and the course of her life.

At sixteen, Eva meets Jamie by chance. She lives in middle-class South Brooklyn; he comes from the super-rich of upper Manhattan. She’s observant, cautious, eager to seem normal; he’s curious, bold, full of mysteries. She keeps a keen intelligence under wraps; his eccentric brilliance is all but impossible to repress.

While Eva welcomes Jamie into her family’s embrace, he avoids going home; with little in common, they are drawn together in a deep friendship. As Eva goes off to an elite college and falls in and out of love, Jamie drops out of school and joins the Occupy Wall Street movement. Eva, so often trapped by self-doubt, is both awed and repelled by the strength of Jamie’s convictions.

Carried forcefully along by Sestanovich’s highly observant, butterfly-pinning prose, these two characters, pulled into separate spheres, circle the same questions: how to define their values and find their purpose, how to create a sense of self while discovering what they owe to society and to the cause of justice. The geometry of their platonic love leads us on a surprising journey of intimacy across time – exposing the alchemy of connection, of the relationships that can define who we are and can even change us, and the possible futures we might not have imagined for ourselves.

‘Beautiful . . . Clare Sestanovich is a writer of disarming radiance’ Garth Greenwell

From Clare Sestanovich, the acclaimed author of short story collection Objects of Desire, Ask Me Again is a debut...


Advance Praise

'Ask Me Again is a beautifully observed and deeply philosophical novel, which surprises and delights at every turn' Jenny Offill, author of Weather

'Rigorous, intensely observed, and brimming with the sort of elusive revelations that form the heartbeat of a life, Sestanovich’s novel debut demonstrates a tremendous gift at rendering the texture of love, faith, and heartbreak with both subtlety and force. In her masterful hands, relationships condense, turn acute, and unfurl with symphonic grace across the individual arcs of characters that you can’t help but carry with you long afterward' Alexandra Kleeman, author of Something New Under the Sun

'This beautiful debut novel is wise about intellectual and erotic discovery, disenchantment and loneliness. It’s alert to the small moments of awkwardness and grace that make up the texture of common life; its quiet, tectonic power comes from an awareness of how easily common life can tilt toward catastrophe. Clare Sestanovich is a writer of disarming radiance' Garth Greenwell, author of Cleanness

'Ask Me Again is a beautifully observed and deeply philosophical novel, which surprises and delights at every turn' Jenny Offill, author of Weather

'Rigorous, intensely observed, and brimming with the...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781529053593
PRICE £10.99 (GBP)
PAGES 320

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Average rating from 14 members


Featured Reviews

Really loved this. A proper coming-of-age book about the kind of observant from-the-outside-looking-in protagonist that I love and haven’t read in years. Funny and sad, familiar and inevitable, reminded me of a Laurie Colwin, wouldn’t let me put it down for a second, and made me cry twice.

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This novel masterfully delves into the intersections of personal values, purpose, and the enduring impact of close relationships. Sestanovich’s portrayal of the characters’ internal struggles and evolving identities, rendered in her keenly observant prose, prompted me to reflect on how relationships mold our sense of self. The exploration of personal growth, societal values, and the nuanced dynamics of friendship felt deeply resonant and emotionally compelling. Undoubtedly, a it’s a full 5 stars read.

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I loved this book! At times reminiscent of Batuman’s The Idiot, the novel follows Eva from age 16 into early adulthood, focusing on her friendship with Jamie, a boy she meets in the hospital waiting room. Full of sharp observations on relationships, I found Eva’s character really compelling, her existential struggles believable. While not a fast-paced book, there is plenty to chew through and it held my attention the whole time.

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