Ask Me Again

One of the Most Anticipated Books of 2024 by Vogue, Literary Hub, and Library Journal

“Profound. . . . [Sestanovich’s] language is cuttingly precise.” —The Washington Post

“In this anthropological excavation of a coming-of-age story. . . . Ask Me Again is a sprawling novel riddled with modern benchmarks, from the Occupy movement to an Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stand-in—all of which shape Eva and Jamie’s malleable world views. A masterful and exacting writer, Sestanovich isn’t afraid to ask life’s big questions, even—and especially—when she doesn’t know the answers.” —Vogue

“Sestanovich captivates with her distinctive characterizations . . . and insights into the reverberating consequences of a gap between one’s intentions and one’s actions. The result is an intelligent exploration of lives in the making.” —Publishers Weekly

“Rigorous, intensely observed, and brimming with the sort of elusive revelations that form the heartbeat of a life, Sestanovich’s novel debut demonstrates a tremendous gift at rendering the texture of love, faith, and heartbreak with both subtlety and force. In her masterful hands, relationships condense, turn acute, and unfurl with symphonic grace across the individual arcs of characters that you can’t help but carry with you long afterward.” —Alexandra Kleeman, author of Something New Under the Sun

“Ask Me Again is a beautifully observed and deeply philosophical novel, which surprises and delights at every turn.” —Jenny Offill, author of Weather

“This beautiful debut novel is wise about intellectual and erotic discovery, disenchantment and loneliness. It’s alert to the small moments of awkwardness and grace that make up the texture of common life; its quiet, tectonic power comes from an awareness of how easily common life can tilt toward catastrophe. Clare Sestanovich is a writer of disarming radiance.” —Garth Greenwell, author of Cleanness