Marigold:

by Will Clarke

Marigold is Joan of Arc for the "Hustle and Grind Era."

Meet Marigold Sunshine Whitaker, "The Sword Arm of Heaven." Marigold is a down-on-her-luck massage therapist and former inmate who is determined to "vision board" her way to a better life. She talks to angels and has read The Elements of Abundance (the secret to The Secret) over thirty-five times, and yet, Marigold's dreams are left unfulfilled.

That is until one day when Krish McKinley, CEO of yoga wear giant, Wolf&Bees®, steps into her massage chair and offers to change her life. Enthralled by the billionaire's charm and his ambitions to save the world, Marigold is torn between listening to her better Angels and following Krish McKinley down an Instagram-worthy path of impossible luxury, corporate fraud, and even murder.

An uproariously heart-breaking fable for our times, Marigold explores the true cost of manifesting your best life.

Genres: Fiction

474 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 1, 2022

About the author

WILL CLARKE grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana and holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia. He is the author of several works of fiction including, Lord Vishnu's Love Handles: A Spy Novel (sort of) and The Worthy: A Ghost's Story. He lives in Dallas, Texas with his wife and family.

Reviews

[Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I have written so far! Please message me if you'd like to book me for your book club!

[Asproreps Asprodites]

First admission, I am a dedicated yogi practicing about four times a week. I suck at Tree and head stands but attempt with enthusiasm and vigor.
Second admission, I can’t resist a cult. Not to join, mind you, but to stare at from a distance. Cults are train wrecks I can’t pass up.

Marigold is soaked in these themes and drenches them in a third passion: narrative. I love a good story.

Will Clarke tells the tale of Marigold with such affection for the lead character that you want to make sure you have her birthday noted in your calendar. He gently breathes her to life as she adjusts to the pitches and rolls of her reality. She charms the reader. She charms me.

As crafty as the tale is Clarke’s architecture of the story. It unfolds with the languid temptation of a crime story. But it’s the weirdness that captivates, that drives you to turn the pages faster and faster. And did I mention props including a printed preamble and an online store? I leave the details of these items to the mystery of it all.

Best of all is the six-pack of quirk. Make that a case of quirk. These are people who are not your next door neighbors but hell, who wants to read about them?

[Robin Tatum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laugh along with lovable, vulnerable Marigold, who faces tragedy with determination, angels, and a liberal slathering of glitter glue. She wields optimism like a superhero in training while collecting trouble (and those who create it) like a super-magnet. This witty tale is filled with quirky, heart-warming humans and their dastardly counterparts. Clarke's masterful plot takes quantum physics and punches it full of quantum mechanics holes, allowing divine light and glitter glue to stream inside. Thank you, Marigold. Thank you, Will Clarke.--Robin Tatum

[Tal M. Klein]

Will Clarke continues being among my favorite authors. His deadpan voice constantly catches me off guard and characters are so full of life that I feel like I know them. This is a phenomenal novel that captures our obsession enlightenment as an escape from the mundane. Especially relevant in the post-Twin Flames era.

[bug · Rating 3 out of 5]

so i've been pondering for a while about how a lot of new-age spirituality is a facade of the real mystic experience. while this book is silly and camp and spells it out a bit too much, it has a relevant thesis to those thoughts and was a really fun read.

[Karen Nicholas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun and interesting read. Looking forward to Will Clarke's next book or a sequence to Marigold?