Radiant Shimmering Light

A Novel

by Sarah Selecky

On Sale: 05/08/2018

Radiant Shimmering Light

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Radiant Shimmering Light

A Novel

by Sarah Selecky

On Sale: 05/08/2018

Format:

About the Book

A sharply funny and wise debut novel about female friendship, the face we show the world online and letting your own light shine, from the Scotiabank Giller Prize–shortlisted author of This Cake Is for the Party

Lilian Quick has looked up to her cousin Florence her whole life. Florence is everything Lilian is not—brave, confident, quick to find adventure and American. The women have been out of touch for years due to a family rift, but Lilian, childless, single and self-employed as a pet portraitist, has been watching Florence for years. Florence is now Internet-famous as Eleven Novak, the face of a compelling new feminine lifestyle empowerment brand.

When Eleven comes to town as part of her sales tour, she offers Lilian a place at the Temple, her Manhattan office. Despite twenty years of silence, Eleven welcomes her long-lost cousin with open arms, and the two women begin a new relationship. Lilian quickly enrols in the Ascendency, Eleven’s signature program: an expensive three-month training seminar on empowered leadership, spiritual awakening, and sales and marketing. Eleven is going to help her cousin rise up to be her highest self: confident, affluent and self-actualized.

Lilian’s sensitive, artistic nature is stretched by the work she does in the Ascendency, and pushed even further by her cousin’s careful life coaching. In just three months, Lilian’s life changes drastically and becomes everything she’s dreamed of. But is it everything she wants? And can she trust everything Eleven says? 

Critical Praise

“Nails the Perfect-Yourself 35-43 gen in all of its hopeful internet-brand-conscious pyramid-scheming empowering goddessiness. Social satire+ cultural insight whipped into a yummy froth! You’ll laugh+shed a tiny precious tear, my petals!” — Margaret Atwood on Twitter

“A killer satire . . . [and] a funny, tender, gimlet-eyed dive into the cult of self-improvement.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Selecky pokes fun at the culture of online empowerment that attracts women in particular—that strange mix of spirituality, philosophy and self-help with a healthy dash of capitalism—without mocking or dismissing it. . . . Smart and subtle.” — Toronto Star

“[Sarah Selecky] explores the power and distraction of social media, the paths to creativity, and how intense devotion to a cause can either consume one’s identity or allow one to flourish, resulting in a searing look at mass market–oriented transformation.” — Publishers Weekly

“Warm, sharp and deceptively light, with smart things to say about the commodification of spirituality; I ate it up.” — Lisa Gabriele, author of Tempting Faith DiNapoli and The Almost Archer

“Our online world provides endless humorous possibility and here is a book that’s witty, timely, and smart with regard to social media. But then, quite wonderfully, Selecky’s story turns more complicated than it first appeared. Bursting with energy and color, every page delights and provokes. This book is a dazzler.” — Karen Joy Fowler, author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves

“The human desire to belong is at the heart of Sarah Selecky’s radiant, shimmering novel.  In the person of Lilian Quick, Selecky has created an irresistible heroine. She has once again proven that she is a writer perfectly attuned to the music of the present moment.”
Barbara Gowdy, author of Little Sister

Radiant Shimmering Light is inventive and modern. Sarah Selecky delivers a cast of characters who are both recognizable and utterly unique in
this novel that is as luminous as its title.” — Marissa Stapley, author of Things To Do When It’s Raining

“Fresh and original, Sarah Selecky’s novel cleverly satirizes our insta-world but also takes its characters seriously enough to give them an ending that’s moving and transcendent.” — Kerry Clare, author of Mitzi Bytes

“Bright and crisp. Humour and light infuse the sentences. . . . Brimming with insights into female-driven motivational seminars in the age of #MeToo, Radiant Shimmering Light speaks to our desire for community.” — Hamilton Review of Books

“If you pack this book in your tote for a long weekend spent by a lake, don’t be surprised to find you’re completely ignoring your friends. The story of Lilian Quick’s enlightenment amidst the world of personal development in Manhattan demands you keep reading ’til it’s done.” — Daphne Gordon, author of Walking with Walser

“Darkly hilarious . . . an unforgettable take on authenticity, success, and storytelling in today’s digital age.” — Bustle

“Reflecting on the women’s empowerment movement and pyramid schemes with wit, insight, and empathy, Selecky showcases the difficulties of having and achieving in the modern world, while questioning what successful womanhood—and adulthood—is all about.” — Mind Body Green

“Selecky’s sharp parody explores female friendship and questions the role of consumerism in women’s empowerment and self-improvement trends.” — Real Simple

“Selecky’s vivid, smartly satirical tale will make you feel like you’ve fallen into an exquisite painting, a women’s empowerment cult and a midlife crisis all at once.” — People

“At once a satire of wellness bloggers, Instagram influencers, and self-care capitalism, and a heartfelt look at the things we do to cure loneliness and feel empowered.” — Electric Literature

“[A] nuanced, satirical novel . . . incredible.” — Popsugar

“Selecky bucks expectations. . . a radically gentle takedown of capitalist spiritualism.” — Entertainment Weekly

Praise for This Cake is For the Party 

“Dry and funny, exact and exacting. . . . Its stories are tender, broken, deceptively unassuming then unexpectedly breathtaking. It holds its delicate oppositions—numbness and understanding, smartness and tragedy—with discipline and flair, and marks the arrival of a gifted writer.” — Scotiabank Giller Prize jury

“Ridiculously witty. Compelling, clever and exceptionally crafted, This Cake really delivers.” — The Globe and Mail

“Sarah Selecky could easily be the next Alice Munro.” — Chatelaine

“Selecky’s stories are ultra-lush and wise, wickedly wry.  She is uncannily accurate about all the tender, blasted-open moments that change us for the good.  This Cake… is delicious.”  — Lisa Moore, Scotiabank Giller Prize-shortlisted author of Caught

“An elegant collection that weaves between life’s everyday pleasures and everyday pain…a beautiful book” — Torontoist

“Strong, often understated, witty and always compassionate. This Cake is for the Party is more than dessert — it is a veritable feast!” — Halifax Herald

“Vibrant, poetic and salacious… It’s no wonder that Cake came so close to winning the Giller.” — THIS Magazine

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Resources

Product Details

  • ISBN: 9781443455671
  • ISBN 10: 1443455679
  • Imprint: HarperAvenue
  • On Sale: 05/08/2018
  • Pages: 368
  • List Price:24.99 CAD
  • BISAC1 : FICTION / General
  • BISAC2 : FICTION / Humorous / General

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