The Fifth Wall

A Novel

In this daring debut novel following in the hallowed footsteps of Black Sparrow titans Charles Bukowski and Lucia Berlin, Rachel Nagelberg, a true literary pioneer, explores the frail line between the human impulse to control everything and the futility of excessive effort to do so. Incorporating cinematic elements and with her background in visual art apparent throughout, Nagelberg pushes the boundaries of the novel form while tackling timely themes of feminism, terrorism, and technology with razor-sharp wit and self-awareness. What Thackeray’s Vanity Fair did for Victorian society, Nagelberg’s novel does for 21st century America (and in a much more portable format). Combining the emotional depth of Eileen Myles with a plot worthy of a David Lynch film, this readable, literary, and thought-provoking work is for anyone who questions the status quo.