Toxicology by Jessica Hagedorn

"Jessica Hagedorn’s ferociously entertaining new novel, which opens with the tragic death of Romeo Byron, one of Hollywood’s hottest young actors, centers on two women who are neighbors in Manhattan’s West Village. Mimi Smith, a filmmaker whose only screen credit is a low-budget slasher movie, finds herself in desperate need of resuscitation for both her career and downwardly-spiraling life. Her neighbor, Eleanor Delacroix, is a legendary, scandalous literary figure, now nearing eighty and addicted to cocaine and gin. Their personal and artistic lives begin to converge in unexpected ways as Eleanor grieves over the recent death of her long-time lover, the renowned painter Yvonne Wilder, and as Mimi confronts the challenges presented by the mysterious disappearance of her drug-dealing boyfriend, Bobby; by her newly sober if still somewhat loopy brother, Carmelo; and by her wayward fourteen-year-old daughter, Violet. Looming over this vast canvas of unforgettable characters is the ghost of Agnes – an “illegal” and cousin of Mimi’s who might have been murdered by her New Jersey employers. Toxicology is, often all at the same time, a dark, fearless, playful, savagely funny and ultimately heartbreaking witch’s brew of a novel exploring the connection between creativity and self-destruction. " -Excerpts from the author's website.

About the Author
Jessica Hagedorn was born and raised in the Philippines and came to the United States in her early teens. Her novels include Toxicology, Dream Jungle, The Gangster Of Love, and Dogeaters, winner of the American Book Award and a finalist for the National Book Award.
Hagedorn is also the author of Danger And Beauty, a collection of poetry and prose, and the editor of three anthologies: Manila Noir, Charlie Chan Is Dead: An Anthology of Contemporary Asian American Fiction and Charlie Chan Is Dead 2: At Home In The World.
From 1975-85, Hagedorn led a band called The Gangster Choir. One of their signature songs, “Tenement Lover”, is part of John Giorno’s ‘80s music anthology, A Diamond Hidden in the Mouth Of A Corpse.
Honors and prizes include a Gerbode, Hewlett Foundations’ Playwriting Award, a Philippine National Book Award, a Lucille Lortel Playwrights’ Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fiction Fellowship, a Kesselring Prize Honorable Mention for Dogeaters, an NEA-TCG Playwriting Residency Fellowship, as well as fellowships from the Sundance Playwrights’ Lab and the Sundance Screenwriters’ Lab. She is presently working on a musical play about the pioneering, all-female rock band, Fanny

Item Weight : 15.2 ounces
Hardcover : 240 pages
ISBN-10 : 067002257-8
ISBN-13 : 978-06-7-002257-1
Publisher : Viking; First Edition (April 14, 2011)
Product Dimensions : 5.25 x 0.75 x 9.5 inches
Language: : English