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Review

Softcover, 240 pages
Anna Livia's astringently humorous, no-holds-barred novel, Bruised Fruit, is the story of British Caroline, lesbian escapee from an abusive relationship; Sydney, dainty hermaphrodite with a Southern drawl; and Patti, bisexual with a trust fund who inexorably, it seems, kills every man she sleeps with. These three, along with a tantalizing array of minor characters, are thrown together in San Francisco, each in search of someone to tell his or her--or in the case of Sydney, his and her--secrets to. When fate gathers them at the home of Ella Weissman, a feminist therapist whose house is her significant other, the intertwined tale of their loves, fears, and confusions sinuously unfolds. Caroline is continually shocked by exposure to her own "tales of the city." Sydney feels compelled, once and for all, to pick a gender. Patti wants to be sexually attractive without giving in to everyone else's desire...and its negative effects. Written as a mixture of chilling comedy and neogothic, Bruised Fruit is Anna Livia's fifth novel. Her two short story collections, Incidents Involving Mirth and Incidents Involving Warmth, have been Lammy finalists. The author lives in Berkeley, California with her lover and their soon-to-be-born twins.
"The arrival of a new novel by Anna Livia is cause for rejoicing among all of us who love well-crafted fiction filled with unforgettable characters. Bruised Fruit is an extraordinary novel, with (almost) enough humor to make us forget about the horrors Livia has to tell us about. I never imagined a writer could take child abuse and find wickedly black comedy there, but Livia has, with the skill to keep us laughing even as she shows us the horror, despair, and plain terror felt by the abused child. I guarantee that if you read the first chapter in the bookstore, you will buy the book and take it home, because you will have to know what happens next."
Bay Area Reporter