“Smart and steamy . . . A beguiling puzzle—and a deep intellectual dive.”
—Kendal Weaver, The Associated Press

“As sensual as it is cerebral.”
—Lauren Christensen, The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)

“Brilliant . . . Will linger long in the reader’s heart and mind.”
—Erica Wagner, Harper’s Bazaar

“Sexy [and] heady.”
—Lauren LeBlanc, The Boston Globe

“[An] intimate story of desire . . . Riveting . . . I’ll be reading this one again and again.”
—Madeline Schultz, Chicago Review of Books

“A subtle, sexy, exquisitely written jewel of a book.”
—Melissa Febos, author of Girlhood

“I found both delight and hope in [Scaffolding] . . . Elegant . . . with just enough experimentation to suit its ideas.”
—Lily Meyer, The Atlantic

“Provocative . . . [An] exploration of domestic, enigmatic love.”
—Rose Courteau, The Washington Post

“A novel of ideas . . . [Elkin] writes beautifully about ennui, literal and metaphorical disorientation, and the love of place.”
—Sarah Moss, The Guardian

“A finely etched debut.”
—The New Yorker

“An erudite lust triangle . . . There’s no shortage of excitement.”
—Anthony Cummins, The Guardian

“An unabashedly philosophical novel—one that keeps the reader hooked by the sensuality of its prose . . . An accomplished debut . . . enriched with passion and curiosity.”
—Erica Wagner, Financial Times

“A reading experience not unlike getting lost inside some many-chambered house: just when you think you’ve reached a dead end, there’s another door to open.”
—Rhian Sasseen, Los Angeles Review of Books

“Wonderfully animated . . . The kind of novel that gives you a million ideas and feels somehow both like a painting and like a conversation with a close friend.”
—Catherine Lacey, author of The Möbius Book (on Substack)

“A lush and fascinating look at the people, places and history that haunt us all . . . It is tremendously satisfying to solve the puzzle that Elkin has laid out for us.”
—Laura Hackett, The Times (London)

“Ingenious . . . Profoundly moving . . . A beautifully fluid meditation on what is at stake, and who we become, when we desire.”
—Sophie Mackintosh, author of Cursed Bread

“[Scaffolding] unspools layers of psychic history to ask questions about the nature of desire and the possibility, or not, of intimacy.”
—Lucasta Miller, Times Literary Supplement (London)

“A challenging and satisfying read about the lives we project onto others as much as those we build for ourselves.”
—Catherine Jarvie, Marie Claire

“A book laden with lust and desire, amorous missteps and the ways in which we can often only understand ourselves in relation to the whims and choices of others.”
—Vanessa Peterson, Frieze

“[Elkin] fearlessly probe[s] the darker sides of human nature . . . Irresistible.”
—Shelf Awareness

“Stylish . . . A great deal of depth and intelligence to the description . . . Readers will find much to sink their teeth into.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Atmospheric and evocative . . . elegant and poised.”
—Alex Preston, The Observer (London)

“Scaffolding is . . . remarkable for its combination of intellectual toughness and sensual precision. This investigation into multiple forms of exposure—inhabited by an array of chords and repeats and hauntings—feels urgently contemporary.”
—Adam Thirlwell, author of The Future Future

“My life has been hugely improved by this compulsive, twisting story of psychoanalysis, politics, and the weirdness of inhabitation.”
—Lara Feigel, author of The Group

“I time traveled with Lauren Elkin and found myself in a Parisian apartment, soaking in human stories and palpitating with new discoveries as I turned each page. What a rich, tantalizing narrative defying conventions.”
—Xialolu Guo, author of Radical

“A powerful testament to the idea that what we want might obliterate us, and a fearless reckoning with the equally high stakes of pretending otherwise.”
—Daisy Lafarge, author of Lovebug

“Be warned: this novel will absorb you, disassemble you, and leave you strangely unwilling to put yourself back together again. Read it, reread it, then give it to your friends and teachers, your relatives, and your lovers.”
—Devorah Baum, author of On Marriage