Marlena (novel)

Marlena is the debut novel of Julie Buntin published in April 2017 by Henry Holt and Company.^[1] Marlena was a National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize Finalist,^[2] and it was named a Best Book of the Year by BuzzFeed,^[3] The Washington Post,^[4] Esquire,^[5] Harper's Bazaar,^[6] NPR,^[7] Nylon,^[8] Huffington Post,^[9] and Barnes and Noble.^[10] The novel was named an Indie Next Pick.^[11] and a Barnes and Noble Discover Pick^[12] It was chosen for the Belletrist Book Club^[13] and Book of the Month.^[14]

Critics drew comparisons to the work of other authors: The Times of London compared Marlena to the work of Zadie Smith,^[15] The New York Times^[16] and Vogue (magazine) to that of Elena Ferrante,^[17] and SFGate to those of Stuart Dybek and of Marilynne Robinson.^[18] Prior to publication, the book received starred reviews from industry magazines Kirkus Reviews,^[19] Publishers Weekly,^[20] and Booklist.^[21] In 2018, the Library of Michigan named Marlena a Michigan Notable Book,^[22] and the Nevada Humanities selected it for the Nevada Reads statewide book club.^[23]