PRAISE FOR WESTLAKE SOUL
“In this wry, heartbreaking fantasy, Youers explores the dark landscape of a healthy mind trapped in an unresponsive body … deftly captur[ing] the voice and raw emotion of a young man struggling to delay the inevitable.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“[Westlake Soul draws] a fine domestic portrait of a tight-knit family under pressure while asking compelling questions about the nature of consciousness … and what it means to be human.”
—National Post
“After reading this thematically deep, emotionally super-charged, and utterly unforgettable novel, you will see the world—and your life—in a different light. Westlake Soul is a novel to be cherished because it reminds us all not only just how impermanent life is but also how awe-inspiring and heartbreakingly beautiful every moment of our existence can—and should—be.”
—Barnes & Noble Book Club
“This imaginative mix of fantasy and reality combines highly dramatic subject matter with a narrative touch that is surprisingly light and funny. The ending, though, is haunting and more than a little emotionally charged. A daring and completely successful book.”
—Booklist
“With Westlake Soul, Youers has established himself not only as one of the very best voices in speculative fiction, but as one of the best and most important voices in all fiction … [It] is a masterpiece. It’s the type of novel that will be read and re-read for years, a novel that writers will point to as the book that made them want to write or taught them how. It’s that good. I could continue to pile on the praise, but I don’t think that’ll do this review or the book any justice. Just read it, and you’ll understand.”
—FearNet
“Rio Youers is as close to a unique voice as you’re likely to find in today’s world of emerging new talent. The term poetic prose springs to mind. In the hands of another author, Westlake Soul might have floundered. It is ambitious, thought-provoking, and by the protagonist’s very nature a difficult story to write. Youers possesses a skill that, despite the adult themes presented, never makes it a chore. There’s a light-hearted approach in the writing style, a kind of cool touch that makes Westlake Soul a powerful and engrossing read. As brilliant as it is sad.”
—Starburst
“I loved it all. Every word. It is the most achingly beautiful story I have ever read, and it will probably always be that book for me … top tier in perfection and greatness.”
—Sadie Hartmann (Mother Horror)
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