Knockout Beauty and Other Afflictions

“Panic set in.” It most certainly does, from every direction from missed planes to Santiago de Compostela (by way of Barcelona) to Gothic hobos, “cute male nurses with Bernie Sanders buttons” to cleaning ladies who prefer only male clients – Marina Rubin’s Knockout Beauty and Other Afflictions is a sensual smorgasbord of the imagination, a truly original view of New York (and the world) spiced with nutsy nannies (with an appetite for Greek yogurt), luminous Maseratis, and LGBTQ support groups for Russian-Jewish immigrants. Fearless, hilarious, so very wonderfully outspoken – there’s something here for everyone, even (especially) an unforgettable Max Florentine, whom, living or not, will make you happy to know him, in a panicky way. Yes, a smorgasbord of wonders and gifts, indeed!
– Philip Schultz, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Failure

“At once energizing, unnerving, and page-turning, Rubin delivers a knockout collection of stories that will stick to your bones and stir your soul.”
– Larry Smith, creator of the best-selling series Six-Word Memoirs