Alexander Maksik (All press)
- May 17 2022
“Eerie and moving.”
— The New York Times Book Review - May 16 2022
“You won’t be able to keep your thoughts to yourself.”
— Little Village Magazine - May 16 2022
“It’s a hard book to put down.”
— Jewish Book Council - Mar 7 2022
“A triumph.”
— Forward - Feb 18 2022
“A scathing satire.”
— Publishers Weekly - Feb 15 2017
Too various to be trusted
— Times Literary Supplement (UK) - Jan 2 2017
"Maksik is skilled at capturing and expressing ambivalent and troubling feelings, especially in the context of a loving relationship between two very different people."
— Psychology Today - Dec 20 2016
"...a moving, complex novel about mothers and lovers that grapples with mental illness, [and] how culture shapes our responses to violence, family ties, and gender."
— Book Riot - Dec 15 2016
Best of 2016
— San Francisco Chronicle - Dec 2 2016
Best of 2016
— Entropy Magazine - Nov 27 2016
Best Books of 2016
— The Guardian - Nov 2 2016
"Delicately nuanced, this mini saga of an America that lays just behind the headlines is full of emotions, lacerating but true to life in that it is about a recognisable form of everyday life and digs up feelings we all have inevitably had at times."
— Lovereading - Oct 31 2016
"Shelter in Place subverts the Manic Pixie Dream Girl by taking her to her extreme conclusion...feminist, angry, and deeply moving."
— Book Riot - Oct 25 2016
"Maksik describes the highs and lows of bipolar disorder with heartbreaking beauty and terror."
— Angel City Review - Oct 23 2016
“Shelter in Place,” is an exceptional look at the vagaries of bi-polar disorder..."
— The Cedar Rapids Gazette - Oct 9 2016
"...more haunting than any ghost story."
— Campus Circle - Sep 13 2016
Captivated by the Harrowing and Heartfelt "Shelter In Place"
— Booktrib - Sep 12 2016
A Sense of Place: Alexander Maksik's Pacific Northwest
— Departures - Sep 12 2016
Alexander Maksik on Violence, Madness and the Fiction of a Single Self
— Electric Literature - Sep 9 2016
Shelter in Place: A Chat with Novelist Alexander Maksik
— The Huffington Post - Sep 8 2016
"There’s something truly exhilarating about reading a novel that’s so audaciously original, so inventive and let’s be honest, so sort of weird that you want to put it in the hands of just about everyone you know."
— San Francisco Chronicle - Aug 18 2016
"...intense and often mesmerizing prose..."
— Booklist - Aug 10 2016
"Alexander Maksik covers fresh ground with each new work. In poetic bursts…he captures [his characters’] inner convulsions while exploring the passions that can drive, and destroy, us.”
— Vanity Fair - Aug 9 2016
"a striking narrative told by a man haunted by love, family and the insistent presence of a bipolar disorder."
— Shelf Awareness - Jul 26 2016
"[A] scorching third novel."
— Publishers Weekly - Jul 10 2016
Best Holiday Reads 2016
— The Guardian - Jun 22 2016
"On every page we’re reminded of the paradox of how mysterious, thorny, and delicate family relationships can be."
— Kirkus Reviews - Jun 6 2016
The Nation's Summer Reading List
— The Nation - Aug 4 2014
Maphead's Book Blog: "Strong narrative voice and story." - Jun 26 2014
Fiction Writers Review: An Interview with Alexander Maksik - Nov 26 2013
The Millions: Discussion Piece: "[You Deserve Nothing] offers a provocative comment on our own selective moral outrage." - Sep 13 2012
St. Louis County Library, Staff Review: "The beauty of the story is in the details." - Nov 18 2011
The Financial Times: "Succeeds brilliantly." - Nov 17 2011
Fiction Advocate: "You Deserve Nothing both re-introduces the original meaning of existentialism, and critiques it as a way of living in the present day. Remarkably, he achieves both of these brainy goals with a sexy, enjoyable story." - Nov 14 2011
Bookslut: "Maksik's novel, with its incisive, large-hearted simplicity, leaves us with these important questions, reeling in the memory of what it means to be young and what it really means for someone to change your life." - Nov 3 2011
Full-Stop: "Amazing." - Nov 1 2011
Ploughshares: "A haunting study of what it is to grow up." - Oct 28 2011
Vancouver Sun: "Maksik’s Paris is delightful to read." - Oct 24 2011
The Denver Post: "[A] wonderful debut novel." - Oct 20 2011
Chicago Tribune Editor's Choice: "Highly recommended." - Oct 16 2011
The Seattle Stranger: "Just too damned good to put down." - Sep 21 2011
The Independent (UK): "It reminds the reader how powerful ideas and literature can be – not just by creating a memorably complex character in Will, but with some stunning prose of its own as well." - Sep 15 2011
Daily Mail (UK): "a hugely satisfying and thought-provoking novel." - Sep 13 2011
Chicago Sun-Times (interview): "I feel as if I've been writing You Deserve Nothing since I was a teenager." - Sep 13 2011
The Daily Beast: "the enduring story of the clash of the personal moral codes we mouth and the private and hidden imperatives that compel us." - Sep 13 2011
New York Times: "Rivetingly plotted and beautifully written." - Sep 12 2011
The Lit Show (audio/interview): "explores the murky boundary between how we live and what we say." - Sep 12 2011
Boston Globe: "A smart, sexy read indeed." - Sep 12 2011
The Sunday Times: "contrasts the giddily liberating sense of discovery that can take place in a classroom with the perils of provoking young minds already beleaguered by hormones and peer pressure." - Sep 12 2011
Christian Science Monitor: "Reminiscent of James Salter's in its sensuality, Francine Prose's capacious inquiry into difficult moral questions and Martin Amis's loose-limbed evocation of the perils of youth." - Sep 12 2011
New York Times T Magazine: "a grabby debut" - Sep 12 2011
Marie Claire (UK): "a compelling look at the dynamics of pupil-teacher relationships and illicit passion." - Sep 6 2011
B&N Review: "Above all, Maksik is a virtuoso of cadence." - Sep 6 2011
Irish Examiner: "You Deserve Nothing challenges the reader’s certainties about love and life, loyalty and betrayal." - Sep 1 2011
Largehearted Boy: "Brilliantly kicks off Alice Sebold's Tonga imprint." - Aug 30 2011
The Rumpus: "A worthwhile read." - Aug 30 2011
New York Journal of Books: "A promising debut. Alexander Maksik is a skillful writer." - Aug 28 2011
The Daily: "Gets the details of Paris just right...not just entertaining, but confident." - Aug 25 2011
The Portland Mercury: "Intelligent, engaged, and closely observed." - Aug 22 2011
Three Guys One Book: "Nothing Short of Breathtaking." - Aug 1 2011
Publishers Weekly: "Paris itself threads throughout Maksik's novel, a character in its own right, sometimes supporting the action, sometimes contrasting it." - Jul 5 2011
Publishers Weekly First Fiction 2011: Alexander Maksik: Double Debut - Jun 28 2011
Kirkus Reviews (starred): "Intelligent and intellectual, this is both a tribute to brilliant teachers and a cautionary tale of their imperfections."