Burnside

by Devyn Defoe

A Lynchian, absurdist debut novel for fans of Alexandra Tanner and Emma Cline about two disaffected young women and the local homeless man they become obsessed with.

The Bowl is a strange place: surrounded by abandoned almond orchards filled with feral children and neighboring towns that keep burning down, the polluted, riverside city has a decades-old web of serial killers and missing people.

Our unnamed narrator, a bookseller at a used bookstore, and her roommate September, a waitress at a cowgirl-themed breasturant, spend their days avoiding their deadbeat boyfriends, commuting to class on the raccoon-infested ‘rat bus,’ and hanging out at wine bars with their friend Claudia Thursday. But after September has an encounter with a local homeless man named Burnside, she becomes terrified that he’s stalking her. Soon, the entire town has turned on Burnside, convinced that he is responsible for the violence, precarity, and wildfires that surround them.

Burnside builds a dreamlike yet utterly propulsive tapestry of brilliant, flawed, and dangerous characters. A commentary on victimhood and safety, both real and imagined, the precarity of late-stage capitalism and climate disaster, and a portrait of a community in a world seemingly right next to our own, Burnside is a singular, epic, and wonderfully strange debut.

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Contemporary

272 pages, Paperback

First published August 4, 2026

Reviews

[emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved every bit of this, the surreal yet very grounded writing, setting, and characters. I can’t believe this is a debut novel!!!
Thank you to the publisher for providing me an eARC via Edelweiss+

[Kelly Coles · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW this was so good. So absurd, yet revelatory. Incredibly surreal setting with so many familiar feeling characters. I was enthralled. I will from now on forever be looking for the feeling of reading this book.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb

[Maddie]

Omg. I need my hands on this STAT

[victoria marie]

Earlier I had a very bad feeling, but at least it was one.
—ELFRIEDE JELINEK

*

[…] had a hole deep within her that slipped the notice of practically everyone, though the signs were as obvious as a slap in the face—she was a visual artist, she read French novels, she listened to music from Nebraska. (227)

/////////////

probably a good five stars as really enjoyed this, especially as a late summer read! (thanks to Lark for the recommendation, & I would suggest looking at their review!

[Gainze · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Astra house for the early copy!

“We were all moving much too fast; there were leaves over our eyes blocking out the sun, and too many people were dying by the river”.

September is left with a scar from an encounter with a homeless man and the fear that he is stalking her. Our unnamed narrator, September’s roomate, describes the Bowl as a violent, dangerous place with many murders, as well as bizarre events involving the locals.

I was never bored while reading this book because it kept me on the edge of my seat. It’s like a fever dream or a car crash that you can’t take your eyes off of. It’s incredibly campy and wild. I believe it stalled at times, but that does not detract from the story. One thing that had me confused at first were the nicknames for everyone; almost every character is nameless, and it took time to get used to. Overall, this was an excellent debut; I devoured it in three sittings!

Burnside will be out August, 4! 🪩

[Letitia | Bookshelfbyla]

a fever dream with some of the best writing I’ve ever encountered - RTC!

[classicmyassics · Rating 1 out of 5]

Marketing this as “Lynchian” + the cover was smart. We yearn for the Lynch! But this was not Lynchian, absurd, or surreal. And we don’t need to pretend that it is :)

Thanks NetGalley for the eARC!

[Chris | Company Pants · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I finished reading the last sentence of Devyn Defoe’s debut novel Burnside, something truly bizarre happened…the book disappeared.

I would love to be able to tell you that what occurred was some magical manifestation that pulled my physical copy of the book from our reality and tucked it away neatly into some sort of phantom realm where another sentient being was equally surprised by the sudden arrival of a random book as I was in dealing with the sudden loss of that same tome here in my own center of space and time. But the truth of the what actually took place is far more boring, much less nuanced and just sort of…normal. (The app that I use to read ARCs made the decision to delete the file the exact moment I finished the book due to it being archived in advance of its actual release. See? Totally boring, totally normal.)

But given the level of introspection and investigation into the concept of “what it all means” that Burnside is rife with throughout its immensely captivating pages, it wouldn’t have shocked me if on some cosmic level, the universe put the exact text that I’ve wanted, needed and have been longing for right in front of me just long enough for me to consume it, to learn from it and to absorb it before yanking it away and leaving me to pick up the scattered pieces of my psyche and figure it out all on my own. It’s a lesson that consistently occurs within the pages of this fascinating book and one that it’s unnamed narrator struggles with in ways that will feel all too familiar for anyone that’s ever floundered, failed or fucked up when making the decisions and the moves that you worry will ultimately define the entirety of your adult life.

At it’s core, this is the story of two friends that each travel down a different path of illumination in the aftermath of an altercation that occurs at a coffee shop between the narrator’s friend, September, and a local homeless man named Burnside. And not to spoil anything, but the moral quandary and the overall lesson we arrive at stem from this initial interaction, but what occurs between the beginning and end of the story’s spectrum blossoms in the manner of someone that has thrown a haphazard collection of seeds over the width of a bare patch of garden and allowed nature to transform the landscape in the kind of disastrously beautiful way that occurs only when you allow something to be wild, to work together and against each other, to aid and consume one another, to be free.

September believes that this single altercation with what is assumed to be a homeless man is the beginning of a long campaign of a stalker and in this assumption, our narrator begins to perceive the cracks in her longtime friendship with September and the people that surround them both as her own interactions with Burnside don’t line up with the picture that her best friend is allowing the community to paint of him. What starts as a minor, polite gasp of shock at September’s coffeehouse altercation with Burnside devolves into a panicked campaign against the man who is quickly accused of not just stalking September, but also being the sole perpetrator of the wildfires hundreds of miles outside the city.

The cast of characters that Devyn introduces are all distinct and each is uniquely integral to the overall direction of the story despite the narrator never allowing us the closeness of knowing their actual names, but rather hiding them behind an assortment of nicknames that run the gamut between familiarity and an arms-length distance. But in truth, it’s the landscape that envelops the cast of Burnside that stands out as having the largest impact on all of the lives contained within it.

Taking place in what appears to be a neighborhood in Sacramento, California, our narrator only refers to her surroundings as “the bowl”. This section of Sacramento feels familiar in that way that all neighborhoods of major cities that exist in that capitalist limbo between “somewhat affordable, yet run down artsy section of town” and “Starbucks-led gentrification that erases all culture”. It is a part of the city that is forgotten while also being on the radar of all the wrong people. Bodies have been washing up in the nearby river for decades, the legacy of local serial killers continues and the police laugh in the faces of those that have been burglarized, but the wine bars, the coffeehouses and the condos being birthed in vacant lots all distract and delight from the chaos its inhabitants deal with just to get by.

Burnside is a masterpiece of fiction in the way that it plays with the current balance of struggle, ambition and apathy present among anyone that’s just trying to make it from one day to the next with the least amount of time spent driving to the middle of nowhere just to scream your head off to alleviate whatever it is you’re so desperate to stop feeling. Devyn Defoe writes with an artistic flair and a clarity that feels as if it defies the fact that this is her debut novel. This is a mystery novel that never proclaims itself to be one. Rather, you just sort of end up in the middle of a constantly evolving tale of intrigue that only deepens your need to understand what exists at the heart of everything contained within its pages. The payoff of this remarkable story is an object lesson regarding the human condition that should feel blatantly obvious to anyone and everyone, but still seems to elude most of the people that initially surround our narrator and likely most of the people that surround you in your own reality.

Thank you to Astra House, Devyn Defoe and NetGalley (@netgalley) for allowing me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Burnside and to review my time spent with it.

[thegeminireads · Rating 3 out of 5]

I began writing a 2-star review of this book right after finishing it, but the more I was typing, the more I was questioning myself. My feelings concerning it are a lot more complicated now than they were at first.

Devyn Defoe’s writing has an undeniable charm to it. I loved the dizzying atmosphere of Burnside, as well as its oddly specific setting; it all made for a very memorable reading experience. It’s hazy and disorienting and simply so unique. I also loved that there are several character dynamics that are extremely nuanced and that accurately capture the inconsistencies in today’s world. While I totally see why early reviewers loved this book so much, I still can’t help but think of what has bothered me about it.

I will start by noting how the characters in this book all have very strange names, which may seem like a petty observation but it makes a lot more sense once you start reading. There’s quirky (nick)names like September, Claudia Thursday, Sid Julius, or Simp Carl, and then there’s also nameless characters like the thinking man, the DJ, the actor, the garbage-skimming man, or the cinephile. Every time someone new appeared in the story, I caught myself rolling my eyes a little.

The prose has multiple minor flaws that could have easily been fixed (to me, those are the most frustrating kind of flaws). I found that so many sentences dragged on for too long, in a way that was supposed to give shape to a certain writing style, but instead they just made everything unnecessarily hard to follow. Certain elements of the book felt very repetitive, and again, while these might have had a purpose of their own, they simply ended up exhausting me.

Defoe has a clearly defined voice and successfully established a DNA with this debut, which I can appreciate. I just wish that the words on the page would have had a smoother flow and that a stricter editing would have been involved in the process. The book had no need for its entire first 30-40%, and it takes way too much time setting a scene and introducing us to its universe and then way too little allowing its themes to truly blossom.

I thoroughly enjoyed the exploration of victimhood and public safety, as well as the way it’s pointing out people’s desperate need to place the blame on someone when living in a world filled with death and violence. Sadly, there is a rise in perspectives like September’s or the thinking man’s out there, in which the anger felt towards systems is misplaced on harmless individuals who are facing struggles of their own. We all feel somewhat lost, scared, and exasperated when it comes to the 21st-century political and economical landscape, and without knowing how to deal with those feelings, they intensify and come out in all the wrong ways. It’s a shame that with a lot more focus, this could have been a great, important work, much needed nowadays.

What made me want to pick this book up was its investigation into the life of the unsheltered people in our society, and the factors that impact and ultimately break apart our sense of community. Unfortunately, I can count on one hand the chapters in which this issue gets the time that it deserves. I expected to get a lot more on this topic since Burnside, the title of the book, is also the name of the unhoused character in the story, but to my disappointment, he only makes for a side character that seems to have no real essence of his own — this is perhaps revelatory of the type of treatment that the homeless constantly have to endure, being perceived as mere outlines of human beings in the eyes of the more privileged. Anyway, navigating the story from start to finish was quite irritating, because instead of dissecting a central idea, we are exposed to a crazy amount of random stories and characters that in the end have no real meaning.

Regardless of all the criticism above, I am really happy to have read something that I am still trying to dissect as a whole. I think Defoe has so much potential and I was very happy to receive this as an ARC from the publisher on NetGalley. While this particular book did not fully work for me, I am still excited for any future projects from this author!

3🌟

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story drops us into The Bowl, a deeply dysfunctional town where wildfires, missing people, violence, economic instability, and bizarre local legends have become part of everyday life. At the center are two roommates whose lives start shifting after one has an unsettling encounter with Burnside, a local unhoused man. What follows is a strange spiral of suspicion, fear, and obsession as the entire community starts building its own version of who Burnside is and what he’s responsible for.

I really enjoyed this one, there’s something unnerving about the way this book blurs the line between what’s actually happening and what people believe is happening. The paranoia slowly builds, and I loved how the different characters interpreted the same events in completely different ways. Nobody feels entirely reliable, and the more the town turns against Burnside, the more complicated everything becomes.

The writing has this bizarre, offbeat quality that made the entire book feel like I was watching a fever dream unfold. Beneath all the surrealism, though, there’s a lot being said about fear, misogyny, economic instability, climate disaster, and how quickly people can turn someone into a villain when they need something to blame.

I also really enjoyed the portrayal of the two roommates and the very different ways they respond to the world around them. Their lives feel messy and painfully believable.

I thought Burnside was fever-dreamy. It's unsettling and strange and if you enjoy books that leave you questioning what exactly you just experienced, this one is worth checking out.

Thank you Astra & Devyn Defoe for the #gifted copy! All opinions are my own.

[Di Richardson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A friend brought this book to my attention a while ago. I immediately put it on my library hold list and as I often do, completely forgot about it. So when it showed up, I went in blind, as is my preference. In this case, I have to say that probably didn’t serve me well, and turned out to be more of a distraction than anything. I am not sure if they ever say the name of the City where the book is set. I knew it was in California, a place called “The Bowl, surrounded by abandoned almond orchards.” But I am going to start with the names of the characters. The main character, the one telling the story…I don’t think we ever learn her name. Why? I need a name. Maybe. Because the names of the other women…September and Claudia Thursday? That made me a little nuts. And it got me thinking about the name of the book. Burnside. There is a coffee place in downtown Sacramento called Burnside. That made me wonder…is this book set in Sacramento? Then a reference to a serial killer named “Dorothy” that ran a boarding house and killed her residents for their social security. A reference to the American River. And then towards the end, a reference to Del Paso Heights. I spent more time wondering if this was supposed to be Sacramento than I did thinking about the strange plot. I really should have broke my rule and looked up the author before finishing the book. And in case you haven’t figured it out yet, yes, she is from Sacramento. Did I love this book? Not really. I mostly thought it was odd. But I will always support the efforts of a hometown girl.

[Drea Warner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Burnside completely pulled me into its strange, polluted, feverish world from the very first pages. This book feels grimy, surreal, funny, terrifying, and painfully human all at once. The atmosphere is unbelievable — abandoned almond orchards, feral children, wildfire smoke, dead-end jobs, serial killer lore, raccoon-infested buses — every detail adds to this overwhelming sense of societal decay and emotional instability.

What impressed me most was how layered the novel feels beneath all of its weirdness. Devyn Defoe captures the exhaustion and humiliation of modern girlhood so well, especially the constant low-level fear women are expected to live with. The book explores victimhood, paranoia, misogyny, economic precarity, and climate collapse in a way that feels sharp without ever becoming preachy.

I also loved how dreamlike and disorienting the story becomes. The entire novel feels haunted — not just by violence, but by loneliness, instability, and the feeling that the world itself is quietly unraveling around these characters.

This is such a confident, singular debut. Beautifully strange, unsettling, and emotionally resonant. I’ll absolutely be reading future releases from Devyn Defoe.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Burnside is a Lynchian fever dream that at times perplexed me, at times made my skin crawl and at times made me confused. In Devyn Devoe’s debut she writers about two roommates, our narrator who is nameless and her friend September (also nameless). Following an interaction with a homeless man leaving September scratched, both girls begin on two separate paths. Our narrator becoming more and more aware of her surroundings, how people around her narrate stories to their benefit and how violent yet blasé her environment is. And September who appears to lean into the environment.

I left feeling very struck by the end of this and it’s not necessarily a bad thing. “The Bowl” as our narrator describes is a post-capitalism hellscape of a town in California. Where there is commentary on climate, the economy, victimhood and just who is allowed to be safe anymore. Turning the final page of this book and being in our present world did not feel entirely different from one another.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

[Tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Astra Publishing House, Devyn Defoe and NetGalley for this Advanced Copy!!

This is a dreamy, strange debut novel.
Beautifully written, it balances realism with an almost surreal, dreamlike quality that makes the story feel immersive, intimate and slightly untethered.

An unnamed narrator guides us through her life and through her lens it becomes clear the way we perceive others, and the way we are perceived rarely reflects the truth. The characters felt human and real and the observations are mostly subtle, allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions much like the narrator.

Burnside feels less plot driven and instead provided an interesting exploration into the banality of life with a feminist undertone (at least that was my take away) Whilst the pacing on the slower side, it was atmospheric and very well written. I’d definitely recommend this to readers who enjoy literary fiction that prioritises atmosphere, introspection, and social commentary.

[Joel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was provided an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts and review, thank you to Astra House and the author for this galley!

If you like your humor dry as a piece of used 120 grit sandpaper lying for days in the Arizona sun, this one’s for you!(complimentary). I thoroughly enjoyed this read and found myself gleefully making my way through it in just a few sittings. Defoe has such a unique voice—sparse dialogue mixed with hilariously esoteric references. The publisher describes this debut as being perfect for fans of Emma Cline or Joy Williams, who I think are both apt comparisons. I’d also agree with those who’ve described it as Lynchian, the most direct comparison (to me) being Twin Peaks—especially for the mix of both dark and light humor, as well as the dreamlike quality that permeates the book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, would read again!

P.S. Poor possums):

[Calli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Burnside was at times genius, but always strange. Comparing it to the writing of Emma Cline made a lot of sense to me, as our main characters are caricatures and go through life not considering the consequences of their actions. I liked the surrealism, the weird interactions, and the commentary on how people claim to be community/society driven but are more self-centered than they let on. The book felt inspired by Lynch, but honestly could've gone further with the macabre and unsettling energy. I also didn't like how the author kept so many people nameless, while also creating ridiculous names for other characters - September, December, Sid Julius, the thinking man, the cinephile...

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy!

[Dol Leander · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is an apathy that bleeds into fear so easily when you’re young, even more so when you exist surrounded by both a housing and climate crisis. The unnamed narrator and her friend live in these times alongside us. They make ends meet at jobs that seem to almost contradict their own existences, interact with both strangers and friends who could almost be figments of the imagination, and stumble into the all too human desire to misplace blame on people just failing to navigate a broken system. Each sentence is a dizzying polluted reflection of the world around us. Dreamlike and philosophical underneath the humor, Defoe creates a beautiful absurdity that you can only find mirrored in the real world.

[Christian · Rating 2 out of 5]

"no one writes like devyn defoe" reads an accolade on the back of the novel. it's true, and for good reason: because it sucks! there's poetry and, dare i say, insight in very small measure if you agree that starbucks is sapping our shared humanity or whatever, but this is way too hazy and way too boring to ever make its point. long-winded but not in a meandery way, it actually lingers horrifically too long on every motif and idea, and doesn't afford any of its characters a real name or personality, which tracks thematically, but left me cold and uncaring to this entire universe where nobody matters and nothing happens or resolves. ironically feel like if i wrote a novel it would be bad in this exact way.

[mads · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was immediately drawn to the cover art on this one, and hooked pretty quickly once I started reading. that said, I did end up getting a little bored around the 40% mark - definitely wasn't as plot driven as I was expecting, but I did love all the random side stories about the quirky characters in our narrators world. I loved all the nicknames, the way it kept me feeling slightly outsider, but also like I was in on the joke. it was funny and unique, just maybe not what I was looking for when I read it!

3.5 stars rounded down to 3. thanks for the e-arc!

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Burnside is part times very strange and part times genius. I've seen that other readers have compared it to the writing of Emma Cline which made sense to me. The characters are charicatures that goes through life not really considering the consequences of their actions.

Most of the characters are nameless which made it difficult to follow.

I liked this novel less then I thought I should. It's hard to exactly know how I feel about Burnside, but maybe that is part of the point from the author?


Thanks to Edelweiss+ and Astra House for the DRC. All opinions are my own.

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is like a fever dream, and it's very hard to review because it's all about how it makes you feel while reading it, more than the story itself. Some passages were incredibly strong and beautifully written. I felt the apathy that contains all these feelings and keeps them from bursting out. This kind of book is not for everyone, but no one can deny that some of the writing is absolutely stunning. I highlighted heavily throughout!

[Matt Watts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never before has the city of Sacramento been so accurately portrayed! Wayne Thibault in novel form!

Or: if Roberto Bolaño were a millennial woman, if Helen Dewitt were a Rivercats fan, if Yorgos Lanthimos spent a decade on I-80, etc etc. I’d mention Joy Williams as well if that weren’t already suggested by the cover copy.

Why am I not describing this book? Idk if I can, but maybe the above comes close to the spirit if not the content.

[Jasmine S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devyn’s novel about two friends living through social collapse is relatable and refreshingly class-conscious, funny and heartbreaking. Her prose dazzles, twisting your expectations with every phrase yet somehow always sticking the landing. The ensemble of characters is zany in a way that mirrors real life, and the ending really works as well. Reminded me at different points of Egan’s Goon Squad, West’s Day of the Locust, and the 2018 film Under the Silver Lake

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

You mention alexandra tanner and i am expecting wit and humor, which I could barely find in this. It leans more towards the emma cline comparison. Not a serious criticism but I hated the name September. I also kept thinking “why do we care about September?” It’s a well-written novel that just wasn’t for me.

[lark benobi · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the first to the final sentence this novel reads like a tricksy combination of deeply crafted literary writing mixed with completely unrehearsed slam poetry and I can’t say I always loved it but I’m going to give it five stars. The epigraph is Elfriede Jelinek, which probably gives you more information about the novel than I just did. Try it.

[angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

A surrealist novel told via an unnamed narrator. Her roommate, September, has an unpleasant encounter with a homeless man, and from then things take a turn for the bizarre. Initially a bit dull, but the prose was enchanting at times. It’s fever dream, Lynch adjacent, commentary on class and identity.

[Chloe · Rating 2 out of 5]

okay so I like how creative you were with your characters, very reminiscent of ‘the outsiders’ - but what era are we in?? there’s reference to bottle & barlow (RIP), Roshambeaux (or at least I think so??), but then you mention Dorothea Puente?? girl - keep your eras correct. also why was there no conclusion to this story??

[Emma Durocher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very excited about this book -- especially with the comparisons to emma cline and alexandra tanner (Worry is one of my five star books). However, the comparison may have ruined some of my experience of reading this book, because I wanted so much more from it. Fever dream is a good way to describe this book, which I have seen many reviews mention.

The description is enticing and promises something funny, spunky, and absurd. I will admit the prose of this book is extraordinary and nothing like I have read before, but the actual elements of the story leave me wanting more. I did not really care for any of the main characters or really understand what their purpose was.

Most of the characters are nameless, and referred to by descriptors, which made it really difficult to follow.

I am not sure how I feel about this book after reading it, but maybe that is part of the point.

Thank you AstraHouse and Edelweiss for allowing me to read and review this ARC!

[Clara Bow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley! I’ve been following this since I heard it described as “Lynchian” I enjoyed this surreal California. Took turns I didn’t expect throughout! I would recommend to fans of surrealist fiction.