Tilt - by Emma Pattee (Hardcover)

About the Book

"When a massive earthquake hits, a pregnant woman must make excruciating decisions toward survival in this riveting, powerfully moving, debut novel set over the course of one day"--

Book Synopsis

Set over the course of one day, a heart-racing debut about a woman facing the unimaginable, determined to find safety.

Last night, you and I were safe. Last night, in another universe, your father and I stood fighting in the kitchen.

Annie is nine months pregnant and shopping for a crib at IKEA when a massive earthquake hits Portland, Oregon. With no way to reach her husband, no phone or money, and a city left in chaos, there's nothing to do but walk.

Making her way across the wreckage of Portland, Annie experiences human desperation and kindness: strangers offering help, a riot at a grocery store, and an unlikely friendship with a young mother. As she walks, Annie reflects on her struggling marriage, her disappointing career, and her anxiety about having a baby. If she can just make it home, she's determined to change her life.

A propulsive debut, Tilt is a primal scream of a novel about the disappointments and desires we all carry, and what each of us will do for the people we love.

Review Quotes

"Every gorgeous page pulses with humor, heartbreak, and the horror of human behavior when the unthinkable happens. Emma Pattee has written a smashing debut that had me turning the pages well into the night." --Jessica Knoll, New York Times Bestselling author of Bright Young Women

"[A] fascinating and emotional debut... compelling... Instantly readable and filled with dry humor, this book follows in the footsteps of other disaster novels while bringing a fresh take to the genre." --Booklist (starred)

"[A] nail-biting debut... Pattee's depiction of a post-earthquake Portland feels bracingly realistic, and her depictions of marriage and impending motherhood are achingly raw. Shocking and full of heart, this leaves a mark." --Publisher's Weekly (starred)

"Tilt is a remarkable debut--a gorgeous, haunting blend of a suspenseful survival thriller and a fierce portrait of maternal love. I was so mesmerized that I blew off all my responsibilities, threw all other reading aside, and blistered through the whole thing in one sitting, loving every moment." --Angie Kim, NYT bestselling author of Happiness Falls and Miracle Creek

"Tilt is a swift, exhilarating punch to the gut, the most embodied twenty-four hours of narrative I can remember reading. Through the eyes of the prickly, funny, and very pregnant narrator, we viscerally experience the surreal, unbearable, comic, and beautiful ways that humans behave in a crisis. The Road meets Nightbitch meets What to Expect When You're Expecting. I loved this novel." --Lydia Kiesling, author of The Golden State and Mobility

"An epic natural disaster adventure story starring a pregnant woman on a mission. A nuanced, stark, tender portrait of a marriage. A tale of destruction and loss punctuated by surprising moments of empathy. Emma Pattee's debut novel Tilt manages to be all of the above, and more. Equal parts heart-wrenching and life-affirming, this riveting book made me laugh, cry, and think. I couldn't put it down." --Helen Phillips, author of Hum and The Need

About the Author

Emma Pattee is a climate journalist and fiction writer. Her work has been published in The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and elsewhere. She lives in Oregon.