“I devoured this novel . . . It just made my whole being vibrate and hum with the impossible, inevitable business of loving other people.” — Leslie Jamison, New York Times best-selling author of The Empathy Exams and The Recovering
For Phillipa Maakestad—theater professor and mother to a troubled, volatile daughter—life is finally, miraculously calm. What better moment, then, to fall headlong into a passionate affair, fly off to France with her new lover, and effectively take a match to her life on the Iowa prairie?
As she steps back to survey the damage and determine her way forward, Phillipa must contend with a wedding-day tornado, a menace of a mother-in-law who may or may not have been a Nazi collaborator, and the tragicomic revenge fantasies of her otherwise docile husband. Which is to say: the damage is not easily contained, and the path ahead is not clear.
Thisbe Nissen offers up a fever-pitched, bitingly funny novel about a woman’s quest to find her place in her own story. Our Lady of the Prairie is a bravura performance—a twister sweeping through the heart of the land and the land of the heart.
“Wonderfully witty.” — Chicago Review of Books
“Brazen, sexy, and whip-smart.” — Refinery29
**
Review
A long-married and long-suffering Midwestern mother is hit with a political, emotional, and literal tornado.
-- "Vanity Fair"
A parable or a revenge fantasy [ Our Lady of the Prairie ] reveal[s] something that runs much deeper and darker than mere extramarital passion.
-- "New York Times Book Review"
Wonderfully witty...A satirical take on the serene Midwestern life and an insightful, comical look at a woman whose life starts to unravel at breakneck speed.
-- "Chicago Review of Books"
Brazen, sexy, and whip smart: We adored this ode to the power and spirit of feisty Midwestern women.
-- "Refinery 29"
The wholesome Midwestern setting provides rich humor...While adultery is at the heart of this delightful novel, Phillipa and the extensive cast of supporting characters exhibit kindness and forgiveness at every plot twist.
-- "Shelf Awareness"
Investigating dysfunction and cynicism with humor, Nissen writes a descriptive novel filled with vulnerable and complicated characters who are often all too human.
-- "Library Journal"
With humor, grace, and honesty, Nissen's three heroines ride an emotional roller coaster as they reconcile their respective pasts, ride out a turbulent present, and, hopefully, secure a more serene future.
-- "Booklist"
Nissen excels at capturing her protagonist as a woman on the edge-the elation, the sex, the emotional roller coaster, the questionable choices.
-- "Publishers Weekly"
A bold and ambitious look into the roiling emotions of a woman caught between should and could , between I must and I want.
-- "Joshua Ferris, author of Then We Came to the End"
Our Lady of the Prairie delivers this wonderful author's characteristic wit, layered with delicious dysfunction, poignancy, and heart.
-- "Elinor Lipman, author of On Turpentine Lane"
About the Author
Thisbe Nissen 's fiction has been published in the Iowa Review and the American Scholar , among others, and her nonfiction has appeared in Vogue, Glamour , and elsewhere. She teaches at Western Michigan University and lives in Battle Creek, Michigan, with her husband and their son.
Description:
“As gripping as it is hilarious.” — Vanity Fair
“I devoured this novel . . . It just made my whole being vibrate and hum with the impossible, inevitable business of loving other people.” — Leslie Jamison, New York Times best-selling author of The Empathy Exams and The Recovering
For Phillipa Maakestad—theater professor and mother to a troubled, volatile daughter—life is finally, miraculously calm. What better moment, then, to fall headlong into a passionate affair, fly off to France with her new lover, and effectively take a match to her life on the Iowa prairie?
As she steps back to survey the damage and determine her way forward, Phillipa must contend with a wedding-day tornado, a menace of a mother-in-law who may or may not have been a Nazi collaborator, and the tragicomic revenge fantasies of her otherwise docile husband. Which is to say: the damage is not easily contained, and the path ahead is not clear.
Thisbe Nissen offers up a fever-pitched, bitingly funny novel about a woman’s quest to find her place in her own story. Our Lady of the Prairie is a bravura performance—a twister sweeping through the heart of the land and the land of the heart.
“Wonderfully witty.” — Chicago Review of Books
“Brazen, sexy, and whip-smart.” — Refinery29 **
Review
A long-married and long-suffering Midwestern mother is hit with a political, emotional, and literal tornado. -- "Vanity Fair"
A parable or a revenge fantasy [ Our Lady of the Prairie ] reveal[s] something that runs much deeper and darker than mere extramarital passion. -- "New York Times Book Review"
Wonderfully witty...A satirical take on the serene Midwestern life and an insightful, comical look at a woman whose life starts to unravel at breakneck speed. -- "Chicago Review of Books"
Brazen, sexy, and whip smart: We adored this ode to the power and spirit of feisty Midwestern women. -- "Refinery 29"
The wholesome Midwestern setting provides rich humor...While adultery is at the heart of this delightful novel, Phillipa and the extensive cast of supporting characters exhibit kindness and forgiveness at every plot twist. -- "Shelf Awareness"
Investigating dysfunction and cynicism with humor, Nissen writes a descriptive novel filled with vulnerable and complicated characters who are often all too human. -- "Library Journal"
With humor, grace, and honesty, Nissen's three heroines ride an emotional roller coaster as they reconcile their respective pasts, ride out a turbulent present, and, hopefully, secure a more serene future. -- "Booklist"
Nissen excels at capturing her protagonist as a woman on the edge-the elation, the sex, the emotional roller coaster, the questionable choices. -- "Publishers Weekly"
A bold and ambitious look into the roiling emotions of a woman caught between should and could , between I must and I want. -- "Joshua Ferris, author of Then We Came to the End"
Our Lady of the Prairie delivers this wonderful author's characteristic wit, layered with delicious dysfunction, poignancy, and heart. -- "Elinor Lipman, author of On Turpentine Lane"
About the Author
Thisbe Nissen 's fiction has been published in the Iowa Review and the American Scholar , among others, and her nonfiction has appeared in Vogue, Glamour , and elsewhere. She teaches at Western Michigan University and lives in Battle Creek, Michigan, with her husband and their son.