(Hardcover) (Paperback)
Liska Jacobs
The Worst Kind of Want
(MCD/FSG, Hardcover November 2019, Paperback July 2021)
One of Publishers Lunch‘s ‘Highly Anticipated’ picks in their “Buzz Books Fall/Winter Preview 2019”
A Powell’s Staff Pick
One of LitHub‘s “Most Anticipated Books of 2019”
One of Vulture‘s “Best and Biggest Books to Read This Fall”
One of Esquire‘s Best Books of Fall 2019
One of CrimeReads‘ Most Anticipated Crime, Mystery, and Thriller Books of 2019
One of PopSugar‘s “17 New Books Worth Obsessing Over in November”
One of LitHub‘s “10 Books You Should Read This November”
A New York Post Best Book of the Week
One of A.V. Club‘s “5 Books to Read in November”
Featured on The Skimm‘s “Best Books to Read Before Bed”
Recommended on Entropy Mag‘s list of “Quarantine Reading: Books You Shouldn’t Forget to Buy”
A trip to Italy reignites a woman’s desires to disastrous effect in this dark ode to womanhood, death, and sex
To cool-headed, fastidious Pricilla Messing, Italy will be an escape, a brief glimpse of freedom from a life that’s starting to feel like one long decline.
Rescued from the bedside of her difficult mother, forty-something Cilla finds herself called away to Rome to keep an eye on her wayward teenage niece, Hannah. But after years of caregiving, babysitting is the last thing Cilla wants to do. Instead she throws herself into Hannah’s youthful, heedless world―drinking, dancing, smoking―relishing the heady atmosphere of the Italian summer. After years of feeling used up and overlooked, Cilla feels like she’s coming back to life. But being so close to Hannah brings up complicated memories, making Cilla restless and increasingly reckless, and a dangerous flirtation with a teenage boy soon threatens to send her into a tailspin.
With the sharp-edged insight of Ottessa Moshfegh and the taut seduction of Patricia Highsmith, The Worst Kind of Want is a dark exploration of the inherent dangers of being a woman. In her unsettling follow-up to Catalina, Liska Jacobs again delivers hypnotic literary noir about a woman whose unruly desires and troubled past push her to the brink of disaster.
Advance Praise for The Worst Kind of Want
“The Worst Kind of Want is a devilish, devious, and sultry psychological thrill ride. Each page overflows with disquieting passion and sumptuous detail. Jacobs is an archaeologist who dives deep into her characters illicit desires and reveals them with unnerving and unflinching honesty.”
–Ivy Pochoda, author of Wonder Valley
“Liska Jacobs’s psychologically-tense novel, The Worst Kind of Want, deftly explores matters of age and aging, of modernity and women, as seen through the lens of forty-something Cilla’s propulsive desires. In this sharply written feminist noir, Jacobs’s venerable protagonist takes readers on a thrillingly doomed journey set amid the simmering heat of an Italian landscape, where the interplay of ancient and modern are ever present—a captivating portrayal of self and want.”
–Christine Mangan, author of Tangerine
“Jacobs’s deliberately cool voice transforms the classic narrative of a duty-bound “extra woman” into a haunting meditation on female desire and the particular cruelties women face as they age. The Worst Kind of Want depressed me for weeks, but I loved it — Liska Jacobs is an author I always want to read!”
–Powell’s Books, Recommended By Lauren P.
“Liska Jacobs’s The Worst Kind of Want is a moody, sometimes erotic study of what it means for one woman to consider mortality… This unsparing, sensual tragedy is a compelling read for anyone dealing with life and its inevitable regrets.”
–Julia Kastner, Shelf Awareness
“[Liska] Jacobs’s intoxicating second novel is a love letter to Italy and an evocative study of grief and desire… Jacobs’s haunting portrait of one woman’s transformative and, ultimately, tragic summer will linger with readers.”
–Publishers Weekly
“This crispy biscotti of a novel is about a producer who goes to Italy, has a scandalous relationship, and decodes not just the meaning of life but also the meaning of death, sex, dance clubs, and emoji. You’ll feel indecent reading it in public.”
–Vulture
“Noirish and sexy, this provocative novel explores what it’s like to be a woman on the edge, and what happens when dreams are deferred for too long.”
–Esquire
“Liska Jacobs’s work captivates in the present because it reflects the trauma of the past… Jacobs takes us on a wrenching journey into the catacombs.”
–Alta
“This one follows a forty-something mother who gets called to Rome to watch her teenage niece. Instead of being the mature caregiver, she decides to have her own adventures. Think: drinking, smoking, dancing, repeat. The problem? It sets off a dangerous chain of events that explores the complexities of female desire. Because there’s nothing better than reading about someone else’s life to distract you from yours.”
–The Skimm
“We are watching a woman unravel, and Jacobs does an incredible job of painting an achingly true portrait of what that’s like.”
–Swan Huntley for Los Angeles Review of Books
“Ultimately, The Worst Kind of Want presents Jacobs at her best: thinking through the fraught ethical problems and pitfalls of desire. The novel’s title is actually a line from Jacobs’s debut novel, Catalina. This echo suggests that Jacobs is establishing herself as a novelist who can probe what it means to be both selfish and vulnerable, asking with bald-faced earnestness: What, in 2019, are adult women allowed to want—and at what cost?”
–Bryn Lovitt for Believer Magazine
“The Worst Kind of Want, Liska Jacobs’s second novel, is really good melodrama — not least because it’s filled with characters behaving badly…Regardless of the plot machinations around her, Cilla — the broken and bent heart of this smart, sad story — couldn’t be more real.”
–The Washington Post
Featured on The Booklist Reader‘s “Shout ‘n Share! Booklisters Call Out Enticing Fall Titles”
Featured on Alta‘s list of “Fiction That’s Not for the Faint of Heart”
Read and view Liska Jacobs’ photo essay on Rome and Puglia, Italy
Read Paul Semel’s interview with Liska Jacobs
Read AudioFile‘s review of the audiobook edition of THE WORST KIND OF WANT
Read Publishers Weekly‘s review of THE WORST KIND OF WANT
Read Booklist‘s review of THE WORST KIND OF WANT
Read Life Elsewhere‘s preview of their interview with Liska Jacobs
Listen to Liska Jacobs’ interview on Drinks with Tony
Read Liska Jacobs’ essay “F.L.O.W., a Feminist Library on Wheels”
Featured on CrimeReads list of “5 Psychological Thrillers to Read in November”
Featured in PureWow‘s quiz “What Book You Should Read Next? (California Edition)”
Featured on The Nerd Daily‘s “November 2019 Fiction Book Releases”
Read LA Review of Books‘ review of THE WORST KIND OF WANT
Believer Magazine reviews THE WORST KIND OF WANT
Read The Washington Post‘s review of THE WORST KIND OF WANT
Liska Jacobs is the author of Catalina, and her essays and short fiction have appeared in The Rumpus, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Literary Hub, The Millions, and The Hairpin, among other publications. She holds an MFA from the University of California, Riverside.