MARIA HUMMEL is a novelist and poet. Her novel, Still Lives, was a Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club pick, Book of the Month Club pick, and BBC Culture Best Book of 2018, and has been optioned for television and translated into multiple languages. She is also the author of, most recently, Lesson In Red; as well as Motherland, a novel, a San Francisco Chronicle Book of the Year; and House and Fire, winner of the APR/Honickman Poetry Prize. She has worked and taught at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Stanford University; and the University of Vermont. She lives in Vermont with her husband and sons.
Praise for Lesson In Red:
"A gutting meditation on the relationship between art, life and
violence." —Sarah Weinman, The New York Times Book Review
"[A] fascinating demonstration of the exploitation of young
female and male artists at the hands of their so-called mentors.
Equally effective is Hummel’s insight into institutional politics
and the often competing interests of museum founders and
supporters, which has led to the marginalization of female, BIPOC,
and LGBTQ artists . . . She asks the big questions that
faltering art institutions, and the people who support them, most
need to confront." —Paula L. Woods, Alta
"A transporting follow-up to Hummel's breakout novel. With its
immersive depiction of a decidedly uncozy urban milieu, it's sure
to appeal to fans of Tana French and others who like their
mysteries on the literary side . . . We are here for it." —Margot
Harrison, Seven Days
"A remarkably thought-provoking work that examines
turn-of-the-century art-world mores through a critical feminist
lens . . . It’s not the usual setting for a thriller, but Maria
Hummel’s engaging writing gives the rarefied air of the L.A. art
scene the perfect noir tint as she constructs this clever murder
mystery." —Doreen Sheridan, Criminal Element
"Provocative . . . A dark odyssey of the underbelly of L.A.’s
contemporary art scene, which Hummel depicts in vivid, caustic
detail." —Dwyer Murphy, CrimeReads
"Hummel tempers the intriguing investigation and glitzy depiction
of the West Coast art world with a sobering examination of the
roles of women in creative endeavors and the biases they must
endure therein." —Bruce Tierney, BookPage
"Astute insights into the shadow side of the art world, Hummel
exposes the toxic competition at a top art school . . . The
cutthroat arts milieu, precisely and knowingly rendered, is
magnetizing, while the intricately knotted plot and the characters'
nuanced psychology are stoked by Hummel's evisceration of
privilege, greed, exploitation, and criminality. Scathing, sexy,
suspenseful, and righteous." —Booklist
"A thoughtful thriller that shines a light into the art world’s
dark corners." —Kirkus Reviews
Praise for Still Lives:
"It's a thrilling mystery that will leave you wondering which
characters you can and can't trust . . . There's a twist at the end
that still keeps us up at night, it's THAT good." —Reese
Witherspoon
"Both savvy and lyrical-the perfect beach read for either coast."
—The Wall Street Journal
"Has a heck of a hook to draw in a wide swath of readers. . . . It
manages an impressive twofer: It sucks you into a compelling story,
before forcing you to contemplate the big, uncomfortable ideas it's
considering. It's a fresh choice for Reese's Book Club, to be
sure." —Entertainment Weekly
"Aa stunning achievement for a writer who perfectly captures an
outsider's ambivalence about the city's pluses and minuses, and
most notably its sensational crimes and the dark angels we make of
its victims." —Los Angeles Times
Still Lives was also an Amazon Top 20 Mystery/Thriller of 2018, one
of BBC Culture's "10 Best Books of 2018," CrimeReads's "Best
Psychological Thriller of 2018," featured on Time's list of "Best
New Books to Read This Summer," a Daily Beast "Best Beach Read of
2018," one of Buzzfeed's "30 Summer Books to Get Excited About," an
Entertainment Weekly "June Must-Read," Chicago Review of Books's
"Best Book of June 2018," Read It Forward's "Best Books of June,"
one of Purewow's "Nine Books We Can't Wait to Read in June," a
Refinery29 "Best New Book of June," and one of PopSugar's 50 "New
Books to Wow Your Book Club With"
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