Fiction. Women's Studies. Larissa Shmailo's PATIENT WOMEN tells the story of Nora, a gifted young woman who comes of age in New York against heavy odds. Her Russian mother is demanding; the young men around her are uncaring; and her dependence on drink and sex leads her to a shadowy life filled with self- made demons. Yet Nora's intelligence pulls her through the difficult times--there are even moments of (very) dark humor here. As well, an appendix of poems attributed to Nora lets us into the corners of her heart and mind.--Thaddeus Rutkowski

Larissa Shmailo's novel, PATIENT WOMEN (and the title is absolutely meaningful, in so many ways), is a brutally honest wrestling match of truth-telling and sex. I had to put this book down and walk away from it more than once; it was a bit like holding a hot coal in my hands. And even though the subject matter is over the top, the writing is stylistically brilliant. Absolutely recommended!--Ron Kolm

Larissa Shmailo's PATIENT WOMEN explores the intersection of mind and body, posing several compelling philosophical questions to the reader: Is gender biological or do we inscribe these social categories through our use of language? Is it possible to separate one's intellect from one's physical being? To what extent is language itself tactile and embodied? As Shmailo teases out possible answers to these questions, she utilizes a variety of literary forms, which include diary entries, appendices, poems, and vignettes. Formally adventurous and engaging, Shmailo's book is as artfully written as it is thought provoking, offering us stylistic innovation that is both daring and meaningful.--Kristina Marie Darling

Christ-figures are likely to be cross-dressers in this engaging bildungsroman, which takes us on a wild ride through NYC nightclubs of the 1970's, rock-bottom blackouts, a whorehouse, and the slogan-filled rooms of recovery. Surreal and lyrical, then bawdy and riotous, then plainspoken and tragic, PATIENT WOMEN had me rooting hard for its lovable, drowning heroine to keep her head above water and let in grace.--Anne Elliott

Nora, born to a holocaust survivor mother, finds herself, at the threshold of adolescence in 'boring Queens'. Lying about her age, her first transgression from her mother's iron rule, she begins a series of ill-fated attempts to put distance between herself and the familial web she so desperately wants to disentangle from. She reels from one dysfunctional relationship to another, druggies, pimps, losers and masochists, searching for her lovable self. This novel unfolds in a whirlwind that is sometimes dream, sometimes nightmare yet, at it's core, is an honest tale of one woman's coming to terms with her past in order to claim her present. Be ready to have your heart broken and then made whole. --Bonny Finberg

Larissa Shmailo's newest work, PATIENT WOMEN, is an unflinching exploration of the lasting damage some people can inflict on their children. Nora, Shmailo's protagonist, evolves as she struggles to understand and heal her own self- hatred and her on-going self- destructive choices. Slogging one's way through a morass of denial and repression is a strong trope throughout this raw, honest book. Nora is fiercely vulnerable and the sympathetic hero of her own salvation. This novel is dark, but there is hope that even the pain one lives through can cause one to create, finally, lasting and beautiful art.--Joani Reese