The Household Spirit: A Novel

“Funny and surprising.” —The New Yorker“Both unsentimental and strangely moving. . . . Comic, poignant and wholly convincing.”  —The Independent (UK)“Wry and touching. . . . Perfectly formed.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune   “Wodicka is known to be LOL funny. But when he does sad, it’s the best fiction around by miles, full of tender ache and tenderer beauty.” —Artforum“Wodicka gives the story a genuinely characterful allure . . . painting a tender and intimate portrait of [his characters’] inner lives that affectingly burrows under the skin. Nor is there much to fault in the author's acute powers of observation. . . . As a fable about the mutual comfort of strangers . . . its generosity of spirit is undeniable.” —The Sunday Times (London)   “Singular among novels about depressed people in that it is neither boring nor depressing.” —Esquire   “Irreverently funny. . . . The Household Spirit is a heartwarming story of loneliness and connection.” —Financial Times   “When I read Tod Wodicka’s novel, it was as if somewhere in its core there was a light that glowed out onto me. It was an extraordinary experience. An extraordinary book.” —Douglas Coupland, author of Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture   “Strange and rich and precisely pitched. . . . Wodicka’s fluid, expressive prose—dotted with quotable observations often as odd as his players—serves well his weaving of such a convincing, unexpected story.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred)   “An affecting portrait of lonely misfits.” —The New York Times Book Review   “The Household Spirit is very special. There’s a pleasing familiarity to it but it’s also fresh, funny and unpredictable.” —Roddy Doyle, author of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha   “Achingly beautiful and unexpectedly hilarious.” —BookPage   “The Household Spirit, is deeply, refreshingly uncool. It is both quiet and sneakily psychedelic: swirling around and burrowing inside the lives of its two characters.” —Tank Magazine   “Powerful . . . Wodicka reveals his characters unflinchingly, in all their strangeness, and never loses sight of their frailties and loves—until we know exactly who they are and love them too. Unique and surprising, The Household Spirit is beautifully told.” —Sadie Jones, author of The Uninvited Guests   “Touching. . . . . A novel well worth reading.” —Publishers Weekly   “A profound meditation upon existence, the demons that haunt our subconscious, and the fragile solace to be found in human relationships. Wodicka writes with a winningly idiosyncratic combination of brio and tenderness.” —Clare Wigfall, author of The Loudest Sound and Nothing   “Finely nuanced details and multi-layered dark comedy are Wodicka’s strong suits. . . . Route 29 may be an insignificant thoroughfare in fictional Queens Falls, but Wodicka elevates its prominence, navigating a poignant, revelatory story on the road to the liberating nature of truth and friendship.” —Shelf Awareness   “Rarely have I been so captivated by a novel—its compassion, wisdom, warmth. I loved it.”  —Nathan Filer, author of The Shock of the Fall (Winner of the Costa Book of the Year and the Betty Trask Prize)