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I Am Agatha
by Nancy Foley
Our take
Underneath the dark comedy sits a real sapphic love story, tangled up with property, dementia, and buried secrets, quite literally in this case. A reclusive painter wants to finally settle down with her partner. Her partner's son would rather see her locked away in assisted living, with the deeds signed over to him. Reviewers keep reaching for Patricia Highsmith comparisons, and the unreliable narration earns it. This is freewheeling and funny in a way that undercuts how dark the actual stakes are, closer to pitch-black comedy than a tearjerker.
Art runs through this one since the central relationship starts with a painter and her muse-turned-partner. Expect dark comedy tonally, closer to morbid humor than romance-novel warmth, with property disputes and a body buried in the yard treated almost matter-of-factly. It's a literary novel more interested in character psychology than plot mechanics, so go in patient rather than looking for a fast page-turner.
Publisher's description
'Surprising and spellbinding' Angie Kim, author of Happiness Falls Agatha and Alice are in love. Agatha, a celebrated painter and even more famous recluse, finally wants to settle down. But Alice has dementia, and a lingering fixation on her late daughter, who's buried in her backyard. In an ideal world, Agatha would move Alice - and her daughter's remains, if necessary - into her isolated house in the mesa high above their New Mexico town. But Alice's son wants her safely shut up in an assisted living facility and her property deeds in his pocket. As unlikely allies come to her aid and secrets are unearthed that should have stayed below ground, Agatha engages in a ferocious battle of wills with the townsfolk who stand between her and happily ever after. Freewheeling, hilarious, moving and entertaining, I Am Agatha combines the sideways humour of Big Swiss with the heart and strong female characters of Olive Kitteridge.
- First published
- 2026
Available formats
- Print — 256 pages · ISBN 9781805228820
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