“Craving your next literary science fiction read? I want to put The Perishing into your hands, and see the expression on your face when you begin reading. Natashia Deon is a remarkable writer, combining straightforward prose with elegant storytelling. In this novel, she introduces Lou, a young Black woman who awakens to an existence deeper than that of just one lifetime. We see from her perspective at various points in time, in the City of Angels, gaining insight on what it means to be human. A great book to put in the hands of mainstream and genre fiction fans.” —Christine Havens, Bookpeople (Austin, TX)
“Reading The Perishing feels like falling through a shimmering kaleidoscope of stories that, when pieced together, tell the past, present, and future of an immortal soul. It is a daring, genre-defying novel that feels at once sweeping and intimate, and makes me excited for the future of literature.” —Caroline Barbee, Friendly City Books (Columbus, MS)
“From the first page, Natasha Deón is successful in hooking her audience to the strange and unique journey of Lou. Upon waking up naked in an alley, Lou is confused but feels as if this is not the first time this has happened. With no memory, Lou is placed into a foster home where she flourishes and eventually goes on to grow on her own as an adult. From start to finish, this book has readers on the edge of their seat trying to piece together the information they are receiving from both narrators – Lou and Sarah. Extremely compelling, thought-provoking, and deep, Deón has created a masterpiece of a story.” -Stephanie Carrion, The Bookstore at Oxford Exchange (Tampa, FL)
“Phenomenal! A propulsive book!!!” -Mary Cotton, Newtonville Books (Newton, MA)
“The Perishing is a novel about the passage of time and the way we choose to spend it. This novel reminds me of Kindred with the main character slipping in and out of different time periods as she lives out her many reincarnations. There is a bit of mystery, a bit of fantastical journey, and a lot about finding family and belonging.” -Jamie Rogers Southern, Bookmarks NC (Winston-Salem, NC)
“Really interesting novel. I enjoyed how engaging it was.” -Lauren Nopenz Fairley, Curious Iguana (Frederick, MD)
“Natashia Deón’s remarkable new novel, The Perishing, is a harmonious fusion of speculative fiction and politically charged critique. Deón follows in the tradition of Octavia Butler and other Black scifi writers to come before her by using the genre’s conventions, specifically envisioning a future a century removed and looking to the Prohibition era of the past, to comment on conditions of the present. The book speaks not only to the persistent systemic racism and conditions of inequality faced by Black Americans and other people of color but also to the COVID-19 pandemic, in which individual decisions have become magnified to reap direct consequences for susceptible populations. The Perishing follows a young Black woman named Lou, who wakes up in an alley in 1930s Los Angeles with no recollection of her past. Through narrative interjections from Sarah, Lou’s incarnation in the future, readers learn of Lou’s status as an immortal, constantly being reborn in new bodies across time, but Lou herself must come to this realization on her own. While Lou/Sarah’s incarnations cross gender boundaries, that is, they are not always born a woman, their racial identity remains consistent: they are always Black. Deón’s novel punctuates the fluidity of the boundaries of time–how what we call the past can inform the conditions of our future, and how the circumstances and people we encounter in the present can often be reflections of those from our past. Ambitious in its scope, the novel’s grounding in the past allows it to unravel the threads of Los Angeles’s history, from the ripple effects of increased crime as a result of Prohibition to the displacement of the homes and livelihoods of marginalized communities in the city in the name of progress for the creation of Route 66. A riveting read that is equal parts informative, thoughtful, and thrilling, The Perishing is an absolute sensation with appeal for readers of historical and science fiction alike.” -Meghana Kandlur, Seminary Co-op Bookstores (Chicago, IL)
“They taught me that when you can recognize a pattern, you can change an outcome. Change a pattern in your own life, you change your whole life. But I tell you the truth, the only pattern worth repeating is kindness.” Natashia Deón’s The Perishing opens in 2102 in which our narrator Sarah is about to stand trial in Los Angeles. As the story unfolds the reader is transported back in time to the 1930s when Lou, a young Black woman, wakes to find herself naked with no memory on the streets of LA. She is taken in by a foster family and goes on to become a journalist, taking the reader on a journey that begins in prohibition and traces the legacy of World Wars, gentrification, and the creation of Route 66. Sarah’s narration guides the story to uncover the mystery of Lou’s life and perhaps the secret of immortality. Bringing to mind Octavia Butler’s Wild Seed and Tochi Onyebuchi’s Riot Baby, Deon’s novel will dazzle and devastate readers. It is truly a novel that defies genre, carrying elements of historical fiction, scifi, and lit fic. I will be yelling about this book as I thrust it into readers hands for a long time to come.” —Faith Park-Dodge, Page 158 Books (Wake Forest, NC)
“A fascinating, deep well of a novel, Natashia Deón’s The Perishing is fresh, unique, and highly engaging. Told between two timelines, one in 1930s Los Angeles and the other in an unknowable future, Deón’s protagonist, Lou/Sarah, contends with the troubling knowledge she is immortal, caught in a recycling of lives she has no control over. I love a book that keeps surprising me with its plot and characters and The Perishing delivers in spades.” —Angela Spring, Duende District Bookstore (Washington, DC)
“This is such an engaging, captivating novel. All I can say is, get comfy: pull up a chair and get a beverage, you’ll be reading this in one sitting.” —Jessica Sullivan, Politics & Prose (Washington, DC)
“Deón’s writing is deep and beautiful, and her themes are timeless. This book is highly ambitious and Deón rises to it spectacularly!” —Nikki Siclare, Newtonville Books (Newton, MA)
“This isn’t a book. It’s a touchstone. It’s an oracle. It’s a mirror in which you will see your authentic self, reflected on the pages. The Perishing is one part lyrical mystery, one part history lesson you didn’t learn in school, one part time machine. It’s a lush, genre-smashing, philosophical experience of a novel that blew my mind even as it broke my heart.” —Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
“Remarkable, strange, and richly inventive, Natashia Deón’s The Perishing will keep you up all night and haunt you long afterward. Deón’s newest novel is a wonder and a feat.” —R.O. Kwon, author of The Incendiaries
“For a second time, Deon has proven herself a magnificent, artful storyteller. The Perishing is by turns mysterious, heartbreaking and inspiring. I love this novel and its courageous protagonist.” De’Shawn Charles Winslow, author of In West Mills
“I loved traveling through Natashia Deon’s haunting vision of our intertwined past and future; her gaze is both unflinching and deeply compassionate, the truest view of humanity in our everlasting present.” –Jade Chang, author of The Wangs vs. the World
“This book has been blowing me away. The premise—and 1930s LA historic setting—piqued my interest, but Natashia Deón’s writing really brings it home! As someone who does not usually gravitate towards stories with undertones of fantasy, this book does it so tastefully that it’s hard to put it down. The Perishing begins with a young woman who wakes up partially-clothed in an alley. Her name is Lou and she has almost no memory of how she ended up there, or really any other parts of her past. Lou is haunted by visions of a face that she begins obsessively drawing trying to put the pieces of her life together. Eventually she meets a man in a boxing gym whose face matches the one from her visions, and they quickly realize this is not the first time their paths have crossed. Together they work to uncover the mystery of Lou’s past. While this story unfolds, we also watch Lou become the LA Times’s first female journalist, breaking incredible stories of crime and greed in Prohibition-era California that makes you feel like you are right there with her… well, almost. This novel defied all of my expectations. The story itself was so enjoyable, but the exploration of the ever shifting meaning of being a black woman in America draws renewed attention to important topics of racial equality that we continue to battle today. Pick this one up and I promise… you will not be able to put it down!” -Shay Mitchell, actor and entrepreneur, Pretty Little Liars, You , and most recently Dollface.