Harrow

Joy Williams’ "Harrow" plunges readers into an unsettling, post-environmental apocalypse landscape where the remnants of humanity cling to what little man-made value remains. Khristen, a teenager believed to be marked for greatness after a momentary death as a baby, finds her world upended when her gifted boarding school closes and her mother vanishes. Drifting across the desolate terrain, she discovers a peculiar 'resort' on the shores of a putrid, enigmatic lake known as 'Big Girl.' Here, a group of elderly residents, consumed by rage and despair, conspire to exact retribution upon the corporations and individuals they deem responsible for the destruction of nature. Delivered with Williams’ signature searing, deadpan wit and profound strangeness, "Harrow" is a darkly comedic and deeply philosophical exploration of paradise lost, the quest for meaning in a ruined world, and the desperate, often absurd, attempts to salvage authenticity amidst the wreckage.