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Dahlia Cassandra
Best of 2016 Fiction Books - Entropy
“The most wonderful thing about the way Kressen writes is that he’s direct–digestible to many while still remaining literary. He has the classic skill of Salinger in this way.” – PANK
“Recommended. A subtle thriller. A compelling, nuanced read.” – Luna Luna Magazine
“A philosophically deep, psychologically potent, and linguistically complex novel that reads at the pace of a thriller or romance novel.” – GAMBA Forest
A pair of teenage siblings are abandoned on an Idaho farm where nothing will grow. Junior struggles to look after his younger sister – waking before dawn each morning to sell papers in the nearest town – but finds hope in whistling elaborate songs he imagines hold deeper meaning. His sister Tike, meanwhile, feels their mother’s absence deeply but rarely lets her emotions cloud her judgment. She takes comfort inventing secret lives for the models in her beloved fashion catalogues, reciting their inner monologues aloud. Above all, the siblings draw strength from each other – until the arrival of two strangers in town awakens new thoughts and desires, leading to an unthinkable act of passion that sends the pair spiraling apart.
From the author of Concrete Fever comes a haunting, heartfelt story of a family in the throes of change, a novel about faith and fantasy that examines the emptiness that resides within all of us, and the things we do to fill it.
“The most wonderful thing about the way Kressen writes is that he’s direct–digestible to many while still remaining literary. He has the classic skill of Salinger in this way.” – PANK
“Recommended. A subtle thriller. A compelling, nuanced read.” – Luna Luna Magazine
“A philosophically deep, psychologically potent, and linguistically complex novel that reads at the pace of a thriller or romance novel.” – GAMBA Forest
A pair of teenage siblings are abandoned on an Idaho farm where nothing will grow. Junior struggles to look after his younger sister – waking before dawn each morning to sell papers in the nearest town – but finds hope in whistling elaborate songs he imagines hold deeper meaning. His sister Tike, meanwhile, feels their mother’s absence deeply but rarely lets her emotions cloud her judgment. She takes comfort inventing secret lives for the models in her beloved fashion catalogues, reciting their inner monologues aloud. Above all, the siblings draw strength from each other – until the arrival of two strangers in town awakens new thoughts and desires, leading to an unthinkable act of passion that sends the pair spiraling apart.
From the author of Concrete Fever comes a haunting, heartfelt story of a family in the throes of change, a novel about faith and fantasy that examines the emptiness that resides within all of us, and the things we do to fill it.
301 pages, Paperback
Published May 1, 2016
25 people want to read
About the author
Nathaniel Kressen
4 books6 followersShort bio:
Nathaniel Kressen is the author of two novels — Dahlia Cassandra (named Best of 2016 Fiction by Entropy & Luna Luna Magazine) and Concrete Fever (Bestseller, Strand Book Store) — as well as the co-founder of Second Skin Books and the leader of the Greenpoint Writers Group. He is publishing weekly serialized fiction with At Large magazine.
Extended bio:
Nathaniel Kressen is the author of two novels — Dahlia Cassandra (named Best of 2016 Fiction by Entropy & Luna Luna Magazine) and Concrete Fever (Bestseller, Strand Book Store) — as well as the co-founder of Second Skin Books and the leader of the Greenpoint Writers Group. He is publishing weekly serialized fiction with At Large magazine.
Nathaniel lives and works in Brooklyn. In addition to his work with the GWG, he curates The Loaded Canon at Brooklyn Oenology which combines raw unpublished work with high-end wine & cocktail pairings. His writing has been published by some of the most well-respected indie presses, though he has a penchant for going the DIY route when traditional paths take too long.
Upon finishing his first novel, he taught himself how to bind books and went on to print, stitch, and sell nearly 250 copies through local stores. With those earnings he published the first paperback edition of Concrete Fever - now in its second printing. Though the pin pricks on his fingers have healed, he remains committed to creating physical art objects out of literary fiction.
His work for the stage has been published and produced in NYC, DC, LA, and regionally. As a screenwriter he won First Place in The Relevance Group's American Details Competition. He is a proud alumnus of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where he studied performance at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and the Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute.
His better half is the visual artist Jessie T. Kressen. They camp and travel and mix cocktails for friends. They have a horde of furry children together as well as an epic backyard garden.
Nathaniel Kressen is the author of two novels — Dahlia Cassandra (named Best of 2016 Fiction by Entropy & Luna Luna Magazine) and Concrete Fever (Bestseller, Strand Book Store) — as well as the co-founder of Second Skin Books and the leader of the Greenpoint Writers Group. He is publishing weekly serialized fiction with At Large magazine.
Extended bio:
Nathaniel Kressen is the author of two novels — Dahlia Cassandra (named Best of 2016 Fiction by Entropy & Luna Luna Magazine) and Concrete Fever (Bestseller, Strand Book Store) — as well as the co-founder of Second Skin Books and the leader of the Greenpoint Writers Group. He is publishing weekly serialized fiction with At Large magazine.
Nathaniel lives and works in Brooklyn. In addition to his work with the GWG, he curates The Loaded Canon at Brooklyn Oenology which combines raw unpublished work with high-end wine & cocktail pairings. His writing has been published by some of the most well-respected indie presses, though he has a penchant for going the DIY route when traditional paths take too long.
Upon finishing his first novel, he taught himself how to bind books and went on to print, stitch, and sell nearly 250 copies through local stores. With those earnings he published the first paperback edition of Concrete Fever - now in its second printing. Though the pin pricks on his fingers have healed, he remains committed to creating physical art objects out of literary fiction.
His work for the stage has been published and produced in NYC, DC, LA, and regionally. As a screenwriter he won First Place in The Relevance Group's American Details Competition. He is a proud alumnus of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where he studied performance at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and the Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute.
His better half is the visual artist Jessie T. Kressen. They camp and travel and mix cocktails for friends. They have a horde of furry children together as well as an epic backyard garden.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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June 7, 2020Uncharacteristically for me, I purchased this book while browsing in Bluestockings because I loved the way it looked: it really is a beautiful art object, with photographs and paintings--by the author's brother, I think?--scattered throughout, as a well as being signed by the author himself.
I expected the book to be somewhat different, just judging by the scattered reviews and the look of the book itself--but I wasn't expecting it to disturb me quite so much. And it disturbed me, not in a positive, thought-provoking kind of way that many good books do, but, rather, in a way that left me feeling uncomfortable and kind of gross.
I stopped reading this book fairly early on, and I'm still somewhat curious to know where the story will go, but I just don't think I can continue when the content so far has bothered me so much. I just feel that there are so many deep-seated problem with the author's thinking about women and sex, etc., that it's not to my benefit to read any further.
I expected the book to be somewhat different, just judging by the scattered reviews and the look of the book itself--but I wasn't expecting it to disturb me quite so much. And it disturbed me, not in a positive, thought-provoking kind of way that many good books do, but, rather, in a way that left me feeling uncomfortable and kind of gross.
I stopped reading this book fairly early on, and I'm still somewhat curious to know where the story will go, but I just don't think I can continue when the content so far has bothered me so much. I just feel that there are so many deep-seated problem with the author's thinking about women and sex, etc., that it's not to my benefit to read any further.
August 9, 2016
2.5
This is not a perfect book by any means (I still don't think character motivations for doing anything that they did were established well in the beginning), and the conclusion veers off into melodrama, but there is so much potential in this and I know a lot of people will really enjoy it, so I hope more people get to find out about it. It's beautifully published and that alone captures your attention. Tike is a great character; the other characters were less fleshed out for me, and I enjoyed the intertextuality.
This is not a perfect book by any means (I still don't think character motivations for doing anything that they did were established well in the beginning), and the conclusion veers off into melodrama, but there is so much potential in this and I know a lot of people will really enjoy it, so I hope more people get to find out about it. It's beautifully published and that alone captures your attention. Tike is a great character; the other characters were less fleshed out for me, and I enjoyed the intertextuality.
June 28, 2016
A very unique and rather bizarre story - definitely not what I expected to be getting myself into - but engaging and well written.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews