Hot Milk
"I have been sleuthing my mother's symptoms for as long as I can remember. If I see myself as an unwilling detective with a desire for justice, is her illness an unsolved crime? If so, who is the villain and who is the victim?"
Sofia, a young anthropologist, has spent much of her life trying to solve the mystery of her mother's unexplainable illness. She is frustrated with Rose and her constant complaints, but utterly relieved to be called to abandon her own disappointing fledgling adult life. She and her mother travel to the searing, arid coast of southern Spain to see a famous consultant--their very last chance--in the hope that he might cure her unpredictable limb paralysis.
But Dr. Gomez has strange methods that seem to have little to do with physical medicine, and as the treatment progresses, Sofia's mother's illness becomes increasingly baffling. Sofia's role as detective--tracking her mother's symptoms in an attempt to find the secret motivation for her pain--deepens as she discovers her own desires in this transient desert community.
"Hot Milk" is a profound exploration of the sting of sexuality, of unspoken female rage, of myth and modernity, the lure of hypochondria and big pharma, and, above all, the value of experimenting with life; of being curious, bewildered, and vitally alive to the world.
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"A singular read . . . Levy has crafted a great character in Sofia, and witnessing a pivotal moment in her life is a pleasure." starred and boxed review, "Publishers Weekly"
"Exquisite prose . . . "Hot Milk" is perfectly crafted, a dream-narrative so mesmerising that reading it is to be under a spell. Reaching the end is like finding a piece of glass on the beach, shaped into a sphere by the sea, that can be held up and looked into like a glass-eye and kept, in secret, to be looked at again and again." Suzanne Joinson, "The Independent"
"Great lush writing [and] luxuriation in place. No writer infuses the landscape, urban or rural, with as much meaning and monstrosity as Levy . . . Unmissable." Eimear McBride, "The New Statesman"
"A beguiling tale of myths and identity . . . provocative . . . The difficult, ambivalent, precious mother-daughter relationship forms the core of this beautiful, clever novel." Michele Roberts, "The Independent"
"Acutely relevant . . . A triumph of technically adroit storytelling. Levy s elegant and poised prose has the rare quality of being simultaneously expansive and succinct . . . A breath of fresh air." "The Literary Review""
"A powerful novel of the interior life, which Levy creates with a vividness that recalls Virginia Woolf . . . Transfixing." Erica Wagner, "The Guardian"
"Exquisite prose . . . "Hot Milk" is perfectly crafted, a dream-narrative so mesmerising that reading it is to be under a spell. Reaching the end is like finding a piece of glass on the beach, shaped into a sphere by the sea, that can be held up and looked into like a glass-eye and kept, in secret, to be looked at again and again." Suzanne Joinson, "The Independent"
"Great lush writing [and] luxuriation in place. No writer infuses the landscape, urban or rural, with as much meaning and monstrosity as Levy . . . Unmissable." Eimear McBride, "The New Statesman"
"A beguiling tale of myths and identity . . . provocative . . . The difficult, ambivalent, precious mother-daughter relationship forms the core of this beautiful, clever novel." Michele Roberts, "The Independent"
"Acutely relevant . . . A triumph of technically adroit storytelling. Levy s elegant and poised prose has the rare quality of being simultaneously expansive and succinct . . . A breath of fresh air." "The Literary Review"
"A singular read . . . Levy has crafted a great character in Sofia, and witnessing a pivotal moment in her life is a pleasure." starred and boxed review, "Publishers Weekly"
"Scintillating, provocative . . . Levy combines intellect and empathy to impressively modern effect." "(starred review), Kirkus Reviews"
"Mesmerizing . . . evocative and complex." Booklist"
