Sweet Fury - by Sash Bischoff (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Lila Crayne is America's sweetheart: she's generous and kind, gorgeous and magnetic. She and her fiancâe, visionary filmmaker Kurt Royall, have settled into a stunning new West Village apartment and are set to begin filming their feminist adaptation of Fitzgerald's Tender Is the Night. To prepare for the leading role, Lila begins working with charming and accomplished therapist Jonah Gabriel to dig into the trauma of her past. Soon, Lila's impeccably manicured life begins to unravel on the therapy couch--and Jonah is just the man to pick up the pieces. But everyone has a secret, and no one is quite who they seem"--

Book Synopsis

When a beloved actress is cast in a feminist adaptation of a Fitzgerald classic, she finds herself the victim in a deadly game of revenge in which everyone, on screen and off, is playing a part.

"Cunningly ambitious, twisty, and immersive, it seduces you into a story so compelling that you aren't ready for the sucker-punch of its deeper truths. This is a hell of a debut." --Rebecca Makkai

Lila Crayne is America's sweetheart: she's generous and kind, gorgeous and magnetic. She and her fiancé, visionary filmmaker Kurt Royall, have settled into a stunning new West Village apartment and are set to begin filming their feminist adaptation of Fitzgerald's Tender Is the Night.

To prepare for the leading role, Lila begins working with charming and accomplished therapist Jonah Gabriel to dig into the trauma of her past. Soon, Lila's impeccably manicured life begins to unravel on the therapy couch--and Jonah is just the man to pick up the pieces. But everyone has a secret, and no one is quite who they seem.

A twisty, thought-provoking novel of construction and deconstruction in conversation with the works of F. Scott Fitzgerald and told through the lens of the film industry, Sweet Fury is an incisive and bold critique of America's deep-rooted misogyny. With this novel, Bischoff examines the narratives we tell ourselves, and what happens when we co-opt others into those stories; and she probes the blurred lines between victim and perpetrator and the true meaning of justice.

Review Quotes

"This crafty novel uses the author's experience as a theatre director to good effect...trying to stay one step ahead of who is playing whom accounts for most of the book's pleasures."--The Toronto Star

"Filled with classic literary references, a range of illuminating and difficult topics and a fascinating heroine, this book engrossed me from the very beginning and kept me turning pages late into the night. Bischoff's suspenseful tale will satisfy fans of The Silent Patient--it's a vivid, twist-filled read!"--First For Women

"Fans of thrillers like Alex Michaelides' The Silent Patient will enjoy this enticing, addictive yarn."--Booklist

"Sweet Fury is cunningly ambitious, and rises to all its own challenges: twisty and immersive, it seduces you into a story so compelling that you aren't ready for the sucker-punch of its deeper truths. This is a hell of a debut."--Rebecca Makkai, author of I Have Some Questions for You and The Great Believers

"Sweet Fury is a wildly imaginative, very dark romance of a kind that would have shocked F. Scott Fitzgerald, that icon of the Roaring Twenties. Filled with surprises, unpredictable in its denouement, this audacious first novel is a subversive and highly entertaining exploration of the theme of 'romance' itself."--Joyce Carol Oates

"A breathlessly fun, dark, and twisty tale of feminist revenge."--Lisa Genova, New York Times bestselling author of Still Alice and More or Less Maddy

"A sharp, seductive thriller that probes the dark underbelly of Hollywood, exposing the blurry lines between victim and villain, love and revenge. This is a thrilling examination of fame, obsession, and the hidden power dynamics that shape our lives, blending psychological suspense with a fierce critique of gender and power. A twisty, delicious read!"--Jean Kwok, author of Searching for Sylvie Lee

"With its audacious, shape-shifting plot and dazzling characters, Sweet Fury is an irresistible novel, always one step ahead of the reader. I love what it reveals about contemporary mores, about our love of cinema and the way we still too often judge women as either heroines or victims. A gorgeous debut."--Margot Livesey, author of The Road from Belhaven

"With her powerful, sensuous prose, Sash Bischoff electrifies in her stunning debut novel. The story sweeps us into the intoxicating world of movies and magic, seduction and betrayal, exploring how we construct our own histories, and how fragile our realities really are. Sweet Fury is the book you've been waiting to read, the one that will make you fall in love and keep you guessing right up until the final pages. The novel asks if we can ever truly know each other, and how love can destroy as much as it creates. Like a fist inside a velvet glove, Sweet Fury delivers a tender punch."--Blair Hurley, author of Minor Prophets

"A whirlwind of a debut, Sweet Fury is arch yet artful--an ecstatic, ekphrastic, high/low re-examination of F. Scott Fitzgerald's darkest romance, set in the roaring 2020s."--Rachel Lyon, author of Self-Portrait with Boy and Fruit of the Dead

"Sash Bischoff combines luminous prose with fiendishly clever twists in this magnetic gift of a novel. Tackling obsession, fame, victimhood and villainization, Sweet Fury honors F. Scott Fitzgerald, then thrillingly redefines his classics for our modern age."--Laura Hankin, author of One-Star Romance and Happy & You Know It

"Sweet Fury is a gorgeous literary thriller, filled with a cast of glamorous and tragic characters that feel like they might just have stepped out of a modern-day F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. I absolutely devoured this smart, sensual, and twisty story of revenge."--Jillian Cantor, USA Today bestselling author of Beautiful Little Fools

"A beguiling tale of abuse and ambition...Bischoff reveals one surprising secret after another, all the way until the bombshell final twist. It's an inspired first outing."--Publishers Weekly