All My Mother's Lovers

though it's just that her lipstick is smeared despite its no-smear promise. "You've got a smudge," she says, and thumbs it away. "My mom died."

"What?" Maggie tends to shriek when she's surprised, but Lucia goes soft and still. It makes people lean forward to hear, and somehow amplifies her presence. It's one of the things Maggie likes about her so much. Her solidness, the space she takes up without trying. "Babe, your mom?"

"Yeah," Maggie says, lowering her eyes to her phone again. "A tree crashed into her car. Can you hand me my wallet?" But Lucia pulls the phone out of her hands instead. "Hey-!"

Lucia holds Maggie's face in cupped palms, looks into her eyes like she's trying to find something there, something that isn't. "I think you're in shock."

"No, I'm not." Maggie jerks her head away and gets up. "Fuck it, it'll be easier on the laptop." She grabs her underwear from the ground, pulls on the baggy Babadook T-shirt she wears to sleep, and walks out to the living room where her laptop is still hooked up to the TV, paused on the credits of the documentary she and Lucia had been watching. It's Monday already, the night having turned early morning without her realizing. She needs to compose an email to her boss to explain why she won't be at work for a few days. She needs to call her dad. She needs-

"What can I do?" Lucia has followed her, still naked, and hands Maggie the wallet she left in the bedroom, on the chain she keeps attached to her jeans.

Maggie doesn't know what to say, because she doesn't know what Lucia can do. Her mother has never died before. She's never before had a girlfriend for this long, this many months in a row. She doesn't know what having a person help her in this intimate way should look like. She can't ask Lucia to call her dad for her. She can't ask Lucia to look up flights for her. She can't ask Lucia to figure out how to get hold of the will and whether her parents sti

heartaches." USA Today

"Masad is deft and incisive about the sometimes-fraught nature of mother-daughter relationships, around which loaded subtext can seem to twist and twine like Christmas lights. And she affectingly plumbs the mind-bending hugeness that is losing a parent." The Washington Post

All My Mother's Lovers is a wholly unique exploration of identity, sexuality, and the all-consuming power of love. Masad is a masterful storyteller who offers complex, dynamic characters that continue to surprise us until the very end. Associated Press

"The novel offers readers a nuanced, fully realized protagonist struggling to come to terms with death, her transition to adulthood, and the leap of faith required to let people in." Lambda Literary

"[An] ambitious, cinematic debut novel . . . All My Mother's Lovers is an intimate, complex family portrait that follows the messy life of one queer woman who comes to understand that all relationships are untidy; that s part of what makes them memorable. AV Club

"In addition to writing fiction and nonfiction, Ilana Masad is one of the best contemporary book critics out there, and her debut novel is evidence that all that reading has done her good. (Brandon Taylor, author of the brand-new Real Life, called her a genius in a recent interview, so that tells you something. . . . Brimming with enveloping writing, this is another don't-miss.)" Electric Literature
 
"This remarkable portrait of a daughter's opaque relationship with her mother reflects the strangeness and beauty of coming to see one's parent fully as a human being." Publishers Weekly, starred review
 
"Masad skillfully balances bitterness and tenderness throughout the narrative. . . . In some ways, every generation needs to reinvent the wheel in order to feel independent and capable. But, whether communicating with our queer elders or with elders we would never consider part of the queer community, it is important to understand that the things we hold most important are human, and though the words we use to describe experiences may change, there is nevertheless continuity of human experience from one generation to the next. All My Mother's Lovers is a beautiful celebration of this continuity, and the value of communication across generations." Jewish Book Council
 
Masad s impressive novel delves into varieties of that strange magic, love, and of its expansive, life-shaping possibilities. All My Mother's Lovers is a debut of rare and vital generosity. R. O. Kwon, author of The Incendiaries
 
"Ilana Masad's All My Mother's Lovers is a stunning excavation of the profound destabilization of grief, the secrets that twist like vines around the root system of a family, and the terror and grace of learning to be vulnerable before others. Maggie and Iris, the daughter and mother that sit at this novel's heart, are both indelible, with a bond that not even death can demolish. A giant-hearted and sharply funny debut." Laura van den Berg, author of The Third Hotel
 
"Ilana Masad has crafted a brilliant novel about understanding and forgiveness. . . . All My Mother's Lovers is a powerful debut that signals a new voice in fiction who can interweave multiple threads through a single protagonist." Bitch
 
"Masad's book is a powerful look at family secrets and how they shape us." Volume 1 Brooklyn
 
"All My Mother's Lovers masterfully explores how complex grief and trauma are." HelloGiggles
 
"A tender portrait of a fraught relationship between a mother and her lesbian daughter. . . . Masad deftly navigates a bevy of difficult topics, and the result is a beautiful novel on grief, Jewish families, motherhood, queer identities, and more." Alma
 
"Ilana Masad delivers a strong debut focused on the complexities of relationships, queerness, and gender." Ms.
 
"Ilana Masad's debut novel held my attention as early as its title, All My Mother's Lovers, which renders a wit and promise of complication that makes for exciting reading. . . . The narrative unfolds over a funeral and shiva and will tackle identity from many angles: the familial, the sexual, the repressed, the hopeful." Lit Hub, "Lit Hub's Most Anticipated Books of 2020"
 
"An exciting fiction debut from a discerning and insightful book critic." BuzzFeed
 
"A large hearted marvel." O, The Oprah Magazine, "31 LGBTQ Books That'll Change the Literary Landscape in 2020"
 
"This book is on literally every anticipated book list for 2020 and for good reason." Paper Mag
 
"[A] tender debut." Real Simple
 
Masad s largest triumph: superb and cohesive character development. . . . All My Mother's Lovers explores the distance we feel between ourselves and others, even those we love most, and how the gap in those perspectives can be an entry point for grief, empathy, and forgiveness. Chicago Review of Books

All My Mother's Lovers is a raw, emotional book about acceptance and the kind of complicated, messy love that sometimes takes years to comprehend.
Shelf Awareness, starred review
 
"This is a book that takes an unflinching look at sexuality and its role in our lives: how it builds bridges, burns them, and changes how others view us and how we relate to others. For some, it even changes the trajectory of their lives." Lilith Magazine
 
"A story of good but difficult characters and the openhearted people who love them, All My Mother's Lovers is a compassionate and insightful work." BookPage
 
"It s a remarkable debut and the kind of book you want to hug tight when it ends." Elle.com

"A tremendous debut." Book Riot