Hurricane Girl

A Novel

By: Marcy Dermansky

Narrated by: Kristen Sieh

A propulsive and daring new novel by the author of Very Nice about a woman on the run from catastrophe, searching for love, home, a swimming pool, and for someone who can perhaps stop the bleeding from her head.

“The novel surprises us by blending visceral horror with laugh-out-loud humor.... A wickedly entertaining read from first to last.” —New York Times Book Review

"A strange and hypnotic journey in the aftermath of a natural disaster, Dermansky nails the sensation of being alive, of navigating a world so strange that it’s almost a dream." —Kevin Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of Nothing to See Here

Allison Brody is thirty-two and newly arrived on the East Coast after just managing to flee her movie producer boyfriend. She has some money, saved up from years of writing and waitressing, and so she spends it, buying a small house on the beach. But then a Category 3 hurricane makes landfall and scatters her home up and down the shore, leaving Allison adrift.

Should she go home from the bar with the strange cameraman and stay in his guest room? Is that a glass vase he smashed on her skull? Can she wipe the blood from her eyes, get in her car, and drive to her mother’s? Does she really love the brain surgeon who saved her, or is she just using him for his swimming pool? And is it possible to ever truly heal without seeking some measure of revenge?

A gripping, provocative novel that walks a knife’s edge between comedy and horror, Hurricane Girl is the work of a singular talent, a novelist unafraid to explore the intersection of love, sex, violence, and freedom—while celebrating the true joy that can be found in a great swim and a good turkey sandwich.

©2022 Marcy Dermansky (P)2022 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“The novel surprises us by blending visceral horror with laugh-out-loud humor. This unnerving stylistic collision is sustained throughout, as the concussed and bleeding protagonist manages to drive herself to her mother’s house in New Jersey, trying to feel grateful despite the hole in her head. 'She still had her health,' she thinks. 'That was what people liked to say…' Dermansky plays masterfully with perspective… The results are hilarious. Dermansky’s offbeat humor and spare prose make Allison’s mind a thrilling and wholly unusual place to be…. A wickedly entertaining read from first to last.” —Aamina Ahmad, New York Times Book Review

"Dermansky uses economical prose to tell of 30-something Allison Brody, whose East Coast escape from an L.A. producer boyfriend goes pear-shaped when a storm destroys her new North Carolina home. Recovering from an operation to repair a hole in her head, Allison might also be in love with her surgeon. Allison is not OK, but Allison’s story is wickedly funny and wonderfully compact — paradoxically both satisfying and leaving you wanting more." —Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times

"Dermansky is a master of that slippery thing we might call voice....Dermansky creates an experience in fiction that is powerfully and unnervingly realistic...[and] achieves what it really feels like to be a person rather than its literary simulation...Universally delightful...Allison’s story is a powerful comedic indictment and investigation of the darkness of American millennial life, where literally nothing we were told to want is stable, not even a house, let alone a home." —Emma Copley Eisenberg, The Boston Globe

Not What I Expected

This is my opinion and not a criticism of the story or author. Not sure what I thought this story was about.

This story seesaws between comedy and horror. One moment I’m cracking up at how ridiculous/funny Allison is and the next, wanting to scream at her because she is an idiot who is about to get herself killed.

I was expecting a revelation about Allison’s mental health which was never really discussed. I wanted there to be something wrong with her, because that would explain everything she does or does not do. You can’t blame everything on a certain event. Now I’m wondering if I was a bit too judgmental of her. Was the ending satisfying enough. Was that the conclusion, the closure I needed?
I wanted more. A harsher punishment for the cameraman. A more developed love story between Allison and Danny. More about the relationship between Allison and her brother. The full story on her father’s illnesses and death. And what happens next for/to Allison. Because the ending…

I still would recommend this book because it isn’t bad. Allison is a different type of character and on some level I can relate a bit to her. She doesn’t deal with stuff when and how she should. But why dictate how people should or shouldn’t react in certain situations.

4 stars because **I** wanted more.

Love it or hate it

I definitely fall into the love it category ( other reviews obviously not). This book has a quirky, sly humor and and a great central character. The narrator was fantastic ! She really brought the book to the next level 🙂

It ended so abruptly. I really liked Allison.

I wanted to know what happened to Allison. It was so confusing at the end. Was she pregnant, did she marry the doctor, was she brain damaged, what happened to her property. The ending is so dissappointing.

Interesting start, but failed for me after that

Struggled to identify/empathize with the main character. Her internal monologue and decisions throughout the story just seemed so bizarre and at times selfish that it was a big turn off. I also disliked the ending.

Not for me.

I did not enjoy spending all this time in that woman’s head. The power of the audible experience only enhanced the torture.

Unbelievably bad

Story was so awful I quit at Chapter 9. Bad writing, and bad characters. Nothing the protagonists does early on makes you care about her.

Beware of women with traumatic brain injuries

Some of the story was interesting, thinking about how someone with a brain injury perceives the world. But in general, she didn’t seem terribly likeable before her injury (admittedly only briefly seen) but she definitely was unpleasantly self-absorbed afterwards, and I didn’t like spending time with her.

Big Let Down

I was really into the story about 1/3 of the way through. Then it became ridiculous (which is great!) and then boring with a bunch of story that doesn’t really pertain to the plot.

All of that being said - I love this narrator! She could read every book on the planet and it still wouldn’t be enough. She has a fantastic voice with great inflection.

Waste of time

I have no idea what that was. A reckless, stereotypical character with zero intrigue, zero storyline, random moments that are supposed to be dramatic but aren’t. The narrator is incredibly annoying too, she would better be suited for a children’s book with the weird intonation and overpronounciation.

What a stupid book

Sorry I wasted my time. Kept with it because I thought maybe the ending would redeem it. Nope