Bad Nature is a brilliantly subversive and bleakly funny debut novel that combines the intensity of Lisa Taddeo's “Animal” with the dark humor of Patrick Cottrell's “Sorry to Disrupt the Peace”.
It's Hester's fortieth birthday when she's diagnosed with terminal cancer, and she knows immediately what she must do: fulfill her lifelong dream of killing her abusive father. With no friends or family tying her to the life she's built in New York City, she quits her wildly lucrative job in corporate law and sets off cross-country in a rental car. She hasn't made it far when she runs into John, an environmental activist in need of a ride to different superfund sites across the United States. From five-star Midwestern hotels to cultish Southwestern compounds, the two slowly make their way across the country. But will the revelations made along the way dissuade Hester from her final goal?
Almost unthinkably bold but also deeply felt, “Bad Nature” is a novel of stunning detours and twists until its very final destination. As concerned with where we're headed as a species as it is in Hester's journey, it's ultimately a deft examination of the indulgence of holding grudges, moral ambivalence, and the eternal possibility of redemption.
Narrator CIA Court's portrayal of a troubled woman's journey of self-discovery is intriguing and engaging. Heather literally flees from her terminal cancer prognosis with a cross-country road trip and a final confrontation with her absent father over his real and imagined sins. Listeners feel Heather's anger over learning her fate and her refusal to surrender to despair. Court and the author do no
