Acts of Service: "A sex masterpiece" (Guardian)

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A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2022 - VOGUE, BuzzFeed, LitHub

'A bold, promising debut.' - MARY GAITSKILL

'Thoughtful, savage' - RAVEN LEILANI


'Radical, daring and bracing' - SHEILA HETI

If sex is a truth-teller, Eve-a young, queer woman in Brooklyn-is looking for answers. On an evening when she is feeling particularly impulsive, she posts some nude photos of herself online. This is how Eve meets Olivia, and through Olivia, the charismatic Nathan-and soon the three begin a relationship that disturbs Eve as much as it delights her. As each act of the affair unfolds, Eve is left to ask: to whom is she responsible And to what extent do our desires determine who we are

In the way that only great fiction can, Acts of Service takes between its teeth the contradictions written all over our ideas of sex and sexuality. As incisive as it is exhilarating, this novel asks us to face our ideas about desire and power: what sex means to us, the forces that shape it, and how we find-or lose-ourselves in intimacy. At once juicy and intellectually challenging, sacred and profane, it might be the most thought-provoking book you read all year.

Reviews

'"[An] extraordinary debut novel, Acts of Service, [is] a work of ferocious moral and sensual intelligence and a masterly defence of sex for its own sake."' - The Guardian

'"Acts of Service is a stylish, elegant piece of provocation that is also as sincere and searching as its heroine. Even if it pisses you off, it's hard not to keep turning the pages. It's a bold, promising debut."' - Mary Gaitskill

'An exhilarating and memorable literary exploration of sex and power dynamics.' - British Vogue

'"One of the most searching and enthralling novels about human attraction and connection that I've read in many years. Part erotic Bildungsroman, part melancholy comedy of manners, it arrives with quiet confidence and a fully formed bank of ideas about intimacy, sexual ethics and contemporary mores that Fishman could go on exploring for years to come."' - Johanna Thomas-Corr

'"Both insanely erotic and intellectually challenging, one of those books we never wanted to end."' - COSMOPOLITAN

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Author Bio

Lillian Fishman received her MFA from NYU, where she was a Jill Davis Fellow (2020). She lives in New York. Acts of Service is her first novel.