"To write a young woman who refuses to define herself by anything other than her activism, her mind, her curiosity, that was just a delight, and she wasn't the most predictable character, but she was the one who told me what to do on every page." How to describe Tess Gunty's dynamic debut, The Rabbit Hutch? Think Jennifer Egan + Denis Johnson. Think polyphonic novel about climate change and gentrification and coming-of-age in a dying American Dream with an unforgettable 18-year-old as its heart. Tess joins us on the show to talk about loneliness and connection, South Bend and Studebaker automobiles, needing to leave home in order to write about it, how an anxious kid became a writer, mysticism, revision, the poets and writers who inspire her and much more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky.

Featured Books (episode)

The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

NW by Zadie Smith

Great House by Nicole Krauss

Middlemarch by George Eliot

Featured Books (TBR Topoff)

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner

Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays, with occasional Saturdays.

A full transcript of this episode is available here.