Mona’s journey asks the question: When we find what gives our life meaning, will we be ready for it?īefore becoming a writer, Elizabeth Gonzalez James was a waitress, a pollster, an Avon lady, and an opera singer. The more Mona craves perfection and order, the more she is forced to see that it is never attainable. In the financial and social malaise of the early 2000s, Mona walks a knife’s edge as she faces down unemployment, underemployment, the complexities of adult relationships, and the downward spiral of her parents’ shattering marriage. Mona’s the sort who says exactly the right thing at absolutely the wrong moments, seeing the world through a cynic’s eyes. Despite her potential, and her top-of-her-class college degree, Mona finds herself unemployed, living with her parents, and adrift in life and love. Mona is a Millennial perfectionist who fails upwards in the midst of the 2008 economic crisis. In this sharp, witty debut, Elizabeth Gonzalez James introduces us to Mona Mireles-observant to a fault, unflinching in her opinions, and uncompromisingly confident in her professional abilities Written with humor and insight and vulnerability, it’s a tribute to the struggle to stay upright as the world around you comes falling down." -Mat Johnson, author of Pym and Hunting in Harlem
" Mona at Sea reads like an intimate late night conversation with the friend you never knew you needed. James is a fresh new voice in contemporary literature." -Cristina García, author of Here in Berlin and Dreaming in Cuban " Mona at Sea is a delightful debut, one that marks Elizabeth Gonzalez James as a writer to watch." -Adam Johnson, National Book Award winner and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Orphan Master's Son Join us on Friday, July 2 at 6pm PT when Elizabeth Gonzalez James is joined by Janis Cooke Newman to discuss her debut novel, Mona at Sea, on Zoom!
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