Counting Backwards

Praise for Counting BackwardsLit Hub's Most Anticipated Books of 2024“Binnie Kirshenbaum novels are sharp, harrowing, and disarmingly funny at the rawest of moments . . . [Counting Backwards] promises to be a devastating and beautiful read.” —Lit HubPraise for Binnie Kirshenbaum“Champagne—the driest, with giddy pinpoint bubbles—to accompany death row's last meal.”—The New York Times“Kirshenbaum's barrage of wit in both expository prose and dialogue has the reader in a titter while contemplating issues of recrimination and forgiveness.”—Philadelphia Inquirer“[Her characters are] deeply, even ludicrously flawed, but they’re not figures of fun because they all carry the existential burden of loneliness . . . funny and compassionate.”—Washington Post“A refreshingly gimlet-eyed examination of memory, one that cuts through the gauzy layers imposed by time.”—Time Out New York“A reality check, sobering truths about family, regret, loss, history . . . Just about the only thing she doesn’t serve up is a happy ending.”—Daily Beast“The cinematic, effortlessly beautiful descriptions will spark the reader's imagination.”—Chicago Tribune“Lyrical and prosaic, laced with sardonic wit, often hilarious, yet filled with an overwhelming sadness.”—The Review of Contemporary Fiction“Kirshenbaum refuses to corral what is funny or sad into separate camps, but allows one to flip over into the other, creating unexpectedly poignant effects . . . A litany of longing, at once unsettling and deeply moving.”—San Francisco Review of Books“Binnie Kirshenbaum is a rare and remarkable writer.”—Michael Cunningham, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Hours“Binnie Kirshenbaum is a fearlessly unsentimental storyteller, a gifted comic writer and a thoughtful archaeologist of family life.”—Gary Shteyngart, New York Times bestselling author of Super Sad True Love Story“Bitter truths [are] rendered palatable by the delicious sauciness of Kirshenbaum's prose.”—San Francisco Chronicle“Writing swift, pointed chapters . . . Kirshenbaum offers hilarious and sage advice in the battle of the sexes. Readers anxious for an entertaining female character to emulate, if only in their fantasies, will find themselves in good company.”—People“Kirshenbaum has an original voice and, even better, an original sensibility.”—Los Angeles Times