'House of Cotton' is a bizarre, uncomfortable read — in the best way possible
Monica Brashears debut novel is peculiar and slightly surreal. But it's also dazzling, full of surprises, and told with a voice that's unpredictable and — more importantly — one that lingers.
Monica Brashears' House of Cotton is hard to classify.
On the surface, it's a Black southern gothic novel about a young woman learning to navigate life alone. But it's also a creepy ghost story with a sense of humor, a narrative about survival, and a strange tale of loss and grief sprinkled with sex, abuse, empathy, and a deep look at what it means to be dealt a rough hand at life from the very beginning.
That said, there's something that's very easy to
