Acts of Service, Lillian Fishman
Acts of Service, Lillian Fishman
List: $20.00 | Sale: $14.00
Club: $10.00

Acts of Service

Author: Lillian Fishman

Narrator: Rebecca Lowman

Unabridged: 7 hr 21 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/03/2022


Synopsis

A “bold and unflinchingly sexy” (Vogue) debut novel about a young woman who follows her desires into a world of pleasure, decadence, and privilege, unraveling everything she thought she knew about sex . . . and herself.
 
“One of the most entertaining books about sex I’ve ever read . . . The perfect read for fans of Raven Leilani and Ottessa Moshfegh, this is a book that will have people talking.”—BuzzFeed

“A sex masterpiece.”—The Guardian

A Kaia Gerber Book Club Pick • Named One of the Best Books of the Year by The New Yorker and The Hollywood Reporter

“Anytime I want, I can forsake this dinner party and jump into real life.”—Eve Babitz

Eve has an adoring girlfriend, an impulsive streak, and a secret fear that she’s wasting her brief youth with just one person. So one evening she posts some nudes online. This is how Eve meets Olivia, and through Olivia the charismatic Nathan. Despite her better instincts, the three soon begin a relationship—one that disturbs Eve as much as it enthralls her. 

As each act of their complicated, three-way affair unfolds across a cold and glittering New York, Eve is forced to confront the questions that most consume her: What do we bring to sex? What does it reveal of ourselves, and one another? And how do we reconcile what we want with what we think we should want? 

In the way only great fiction can, Acts of Service takes between its teeth the contradictions written all over our ideas of sex and sexuality. At once juicy and intellectually challenging, sacred and profane, Lillian Fishman’s riveting debut is bold, unabashed, and required reading of the most pleasurable sort.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Danika at The Lesbrary on April 08, 2022

This was a frustrating reading experience. The main problem I had was that the questions it raised were ones I’m invested in, and conversations I want to see more of in literature. But while there were glimmers of insight and memorable lines, those didn’t feel worth reading a whole novel about two wo......more

Goodreads review by emma on December 04, 2023

i am never happier than when i feel special. i’m a longstanding opponent of the not like other girls trope (i’m on the record since like 2015, which means this hatred significantly outlives most of my opinions, relationships, and sweaters), but i do like to be unlike other people. i turn the average......more

Goodreads review by jay on March 11, 2024

"Why do you always thank Nathan? I asked. Why do you always say, Thank you, thank you, thank you? What else can I say? she said. Aren't you grateful?" reading count: 5 (03/2024) welcome to 202-Queer 🌈✨, the year where i only read queer books and finally have fun 🌈✨ 50 in February: 16/50 ... yes, i d......more

Goodreads review by Meike on February 08, 2022

This debut novel comes with heavy endorsements from the likes of Zadie Smith, Jonathan Safran Foer, Sheila Heti, Raven Leilani, and David Lipsky, but I already see how the provocative text will divide opinion, as everyone in here is, you know, PROBLEMATIC, and rattling the cage of politically correc......more

Goodreads review by BookOfCinz on April 16, 2023

A lot of teeth… zero bite If this book was a show- it would be Girls, if this book was a person it would be Lena Dunham. The girls that get it, get it, the girls that don't don't This read like a very subpar first draft of My Year Of Rest and Relaxation if I am being honest. In Acts of Service......more


Quotes

“Extraordinary . . .  a work of ferocious moral and sensual intelligence and a masterly defense of sex for its own sake.”—The Guardian

“A stylish, elegant piece of provocation that is also as sincere and searching as its heroine. Even if it pisses you off, it’s hard not to keep turning the pages. Acts of Service is a bold, promising debut.”—Mary Gaitskill

“Radical, daring and bracing . . . It is a book of exciting, provocative complexity, and, for me, it made the human creature feel like something new.”—Sheila Heti, author of Pure Color

“Fishman’s seductive debut novel centers questions of sexuality and sex, sexual freedom and power.”Autostraddle

“Searching and enthralling . . . [Acts of Service] arrives with quiet confidence and a fully formed bank of ideas about intimacy, sexual ethics and contemporary mores.” The New Statesman

“A radical understanding of the multi-hyphenate definitions of sexual orientation . . . Using sex as a road map, Eve is searching to understand her own inner workings as a young woman. We tend to love what disturbs us, if we are willing to follow our desires and take the risk.”Interview

“A fun debut novel that feels like the life story of half of Brooklyn.”Nylon

“Reminiscent of Sally Rooney’s work . . . An evocative exploration of desire and sexuality, this dark debut will cause readers to question the very nature of consent.”Kirkus Reviews

“Fishman’s alluring debut poses questions about sex, sexuality, and power via the story of a young woman’s exploration of desire. Smooth and smart.”Publishers Weekly

Acts of Service doesn’t kiss you first, it gets right to it—depicting the liquid frequencies of need and power with a thoughtful, savage eye.”—Raven Leilani, author of Luster

“Fascinating . . a book of exquisite moral refinement and almost intimidating elegance.”—Edmund White, author of A Boy’s Own Story and States of Desire

Acts of Service doesn’t shy away from asking big questions about the nature of attraction. All this, but with a great deal of page-turning pleasure.”—Gary Shteyngart, author of Our Country Friends and Super Sad Love Love Story

“A kind of supercharged combo of Sally Rooney and Ottessa Moshfegh, and as smart as Joan Didion, Fishman isn’t just a brilliant writer—she’s a brilliant feeler, a great thinker. She has the gift we open books for.”—David Lipsky, author of The Art Fair

“Months after turning the final page, I'm still thinking about this fiercely wily novel.”—Heidi Julavits, author of The Folded Clock

“Stunning. . . I didn’t want it to end.”—Saskia Vogel, author of Permission

“I cannot recall the last time I felt this exhilarated and transformed by a novel. Acts of Service electrified both my mind and body.”—Sanaë Lemoine, author of The Margot Affair

“Taut, thorny, and sublimely fraught. . . This book is electric.”—Alexandra Kleeman, author of Something New Under the Sun