Gun Love
“Dreamy . . . as if to suggest the self-delusion of the real-life actors involved . . . the writing is crisp and the images sharp.”—New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)
“Offer[s] a glimpse of what a poetics of gun violence might look like . . . In this book, the machinery of violence purchases a sense of belonging—of thrilling, life-or-death simplicity.”—Katy Waldman, The New Yorker
“This book feel like a great lost murder ballad by the likes of Johnny Cash or Nick Cave. . . . There are echoes here of other great chroniclers of violence, such as Cormac McCarthy, and this is one of those rare books that the reader might wish to be a few dozen pages longer, to spend some more time in this fully realised world.”—Alexander Larman, The Observer
“Through a memorable coming-of-age story set in America’s margins, Clement makes all of these things true at once: A gun is a valentine, a secret-bearer, a penitent, a world destroyer, an exposed belly, an insurance policy, a sudden act of God.”—Salon
“Clement creates a weird poetry of murderous force. Chekhov’s narrative principle—that a gun hung on the wall in the first act must eventually go off—has become a metaphorical rule of storytelling. To reflect American reality, Ms Clement puts a gun on every wall in every room.”—The Economist
“That this novel cast a deep spell on me that has yet to subside. Clement relays Pearl’s trouble-strewn story in the kind of prose that gets called “poetic”: it’s taut, spare, musical, metaphor-laden, haunting, and every so often hits you so hard in the gut that you gasp.”—Jonathan Miles, BookPage “What They’re Reading”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been so mesmerized with a novel’s each next sentence. Jennifer Clement is one of our most inventive novelists. There’s no telling what she’ll see. Whatever it is, it’s something right in front of us, but—here is the magic trick—something we have never before seen. Gun Love is an amazement: fierce, inventive, tender.”—Rick Bass
“Jennifer Clement is a master at creating worlds that feel like tiny dioramas —modern allegories, reflecting and responding to social issues while still feeling contained and mystical, like something you’d see inside of the world’s most ornate snow globe, or a theme park — that is, until politics invade these worlds, and these worlds become recognizable as ones that exist both on and off the page.”—Miami Rail Review
“Clement is a brilliant stylist; her figurative language is far more than fine; her metaphors and similes are superb; and together they create a haunting atmosphere—sometimes fey, occasionally whimsical, no stranger to tragedy but always heartfelt and spot-on, as are her beautifully realized, captivating characters. Though suigeneris, her work may remind some readers of Flannery O’Connor’s. Always evocative, it is an unforgettable knockout not to be missed.”— Booklist (starred)
Prayers for the Stolen
The haunting novel of love and survival that inspired Mexico’s official submission for International Feature Film shortlisted for the 94th Academy Awards® and streaming on Netflix
“Prayers for the Stolen gives us words for what we haven’t had words for before, like something translated from a dream in a secret language. . . . Beguiling, and even crazily enchanting.”—Francisco Goldman, New York Times Book Review
“[A] beautiful, heart-rending novel . . . fiercely observed . . . [Clement] achieves the formidable feat of smooth, clear English that pulses with an energy and sensibility that is convincingly Latin American. . . . A powerful read.”—Wall Street Journal
“What can I say about this novel? That it’s extraordinary, electric, heartbreaking, profound? There aren’t enough adjectives to describe how moved I was by the story of Ladydi and her friends, of their tragic lives and quiet fortitude in spite of a world that conspires against them. Maybe it’s enough just to say this: Prayers for the Stolen is the best book I’ve read in years.”—Cristina Henríquez, author of The World in Half
“The author builds a powerful narrative whose images re-create an alarming reality that not everyone has dared to address but that everyone has definitely heard.”—El Paso Times
“Compelling . . . just beautiful.”—Diane Rehm, NPR
“With Ladydi, Jennifer Clement has created a feisty teenage heroine who is an unforgettable character.”—Good Housekeeping
“The theme of Prayers for the Stolen is the wanton violence inflicted on women and the destruction of communities as a result of the drug trade in Mexico, but Clement’s eye for the revealing detail, the simple poetry of her language, and the visceral authenticity of her characters turn that deadening reality into a compelling, tragically beautiful novel.”—Yann Martel, author of Life of Pi
“Highly original . . . [Clement’s] prose is poetic in the true sense: precise as a scalpel, lyrical without being indulgent.”—The Guardian
“What a marvelous writer Clement is. . . . [With] power in a prose that is simple and simply beguiling.”—The Scotsman
“Bold and innovative . . . The rich mixture of the outlandishly real and the hyperfabulistic has a certain superstitious power over the reader. Jennifer Clement employs poetry’s ability to mirror thought. . . . Superbly drawn.”—The Times Literary Supplement
“The most enchanting journey I’ve taken in a long, long time, and the most important. Prayers For The Stolen is a hand-guided tour through a ruthless true corner of our century, with characters so alive they will burrow into your heart. Stunningly written, magically detailed, you see, smell and taste the action on every page, feel every foible, and miss the candor of these funny, achingly human voices long after you put them down. As the heroine herself might say: not something to read but to lick off a plate.”—DBC Pierre, Booker Prize–winning author of Vernon God Little
Luis Miguel Aguilar on Prayers for the Stolen - Ladydi in Spanish:
https://cultura.nexos.com.mx/absurdamente-lopezvelardeanas/
Elena Poniatowska on Prayers for the Stolen - Ladydi in Spanish:
https://www.jornada.com.mx/2014/08/24/opinion/a03a1cul
AWARDS
A New Statesman Book of the Year, picked by the Nobel Laureate Kazuo Ishiguro
Grand Prix des Lectrices Lyceenes de ELLEWINNER 2015
The Sara Curry Humanitarian AwardWINNER 2014
AN IRISH TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR
PEN/Faulkner Award for FictionFINALIST
The Poison that Fascinates
Might have been produced by Angela Carter . . . Weird, unpredictable and magic realist. -Independent
An astonishing novel, every line alive, leading as if effortlessly to a shocking climax. A work of power and originality. -Alan Sillitoe, author of The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner
Vivid with detail, each colour-soaked page leading us irresistibly to the next. -Kirsty Gunn, author of Featherstone
What a marvelous writer Clement is. She contains all this power in a prose that is simple and simply beguiling. A cri de coeur. -Scotsman
Highly original. Her prose is poetic in the true sense: precise as a scalpel, lyrical and the story is unputdownable. -Ruth Padel, TheGuardian
A True Story Based On Lies
"A bold and innovative novel. The rich mixture of the outlandishly real and the hyperfabulistic has a certain superstitious power over the reader. Jennifer Clement employs poetry's ability to mirror thought… superbly drawn" The Times Literary Supplement
"A warm, compassionate novel that describes much cruelty." The List
"A lyrically told, deeply moving tale." Sunday Tribune
"The unfolding emotional and physical complications are fraught with trauma, which the writer’s particular style heightens into an emotionally wracking story." Big Issue
"A True Story's poetry is obvious, simple, beautiful and clear, like liturgical music." The Scotsman
"This is an unusual and graceful book that, in beautiful and precise prose, tells of unimaginable human suffering and manages, in an unexpected climax, to suggest at least the possibility of redemption." The Internationalist
"YOU WOULD be forgiven for mistaking Clement’s first novel for a book of poetry, such is its lyricism and lightness of touch; yet what we are given here is a narrative that not only pays tribute to Clement’s background as a poet, but uses the tricks of the master storyteller to delight and engross." The London Times
AWARDS
Finalist for the Orange prize
Auf der Zunge (Stormy People)
‘‘Auf der Zunge ist stilistisch anders als Clements bisherige Bücher, es erinnert daran, dass sie auch Dichterin ist – und überzeugt durch eine betörende Empathie’’
BÜCHERmagazin (4/2022)
‘‘Jennifer Clement benutzt die Worte, um die Welt zu entwurzeln und neue zu schaffen ...’’
Badische Zeitung
‘‘Jennifer Clement benutzt die Worte, um die Welt zu entwurzeln und neue zu schaffen, lässt aus ›Staub und einem Stück Seide‹ einen Schmetterling wachsen und schreibt Wahrheiten, noch bevor sie geschehen ...’’
Badische Zeitung
‘‘Jennifer Clement hat ein tiefgründiges, kluges Buch über eine Frau und deren Sehnsucht geschrieben. Auf der Zunge ist ein Buch, das man sehr aufmerksam lesen sollte.’’
WDR
‘‘Die Literatur ist der Ort, an dem mehrere Leben gelebt werden können und das Einengende der Alltagsroutine und der Zeit aufgebrochen, transzendiert werden kann. Clement will das mit ihrer durch die äußere und vor allem innere Welt streuende Frau vorführen. Sie schafft mit ihrem verführerisch märchenhaften Ron eine fragile Stimmung.’’
Ulrich Rüdenauer, SWR
‘‘Wie ein in Kapiteln verortetes Erzählgedicht bietet die Autorin diesen eindringlichen Text an – und wie schlafwandlerisch folgt man ihr.’’
Sylvia Treudl, Buchkultur 201