Ann Tenna (Knopf, September 2015)
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From the celebrated New Yorker cartoonist and acclaimed author of Cancer Vixen, a brilliant, funny, and wildly imaginative first novel: the story of an influential gossip columnist brought face-to-face with her higher self—and a challenge to change her life for the better.
Glamorous, superconnected Ann Tenna is the founder of Eyemauler, a New York City-based Web site that’s always the first to dish the most up-to-the-minute dirt on celebrities and ordinary folks alike. Ann has ascended to the zenith of the New York media scene, attended by groups of grovelers all too willing to be trampled on by her six-inch Giuseppe Zanottis if it means better seats at the table.
But as high as her success has taken her, Ann has actually fallen far—very far—from her true self. It takes a near-fatal freak accident on her birthday—April Fool’s Day—and an intervention from her cosmic double in a realm beyond our own to make Ann realize the full cost of the humanity she has lost.
Told with laugh-out-loud humor, spot-on dialogue (including via cameo appearances from Coco Chanel, Gianni Versace, and Jimi Hendrix, to name just a few), and stunning, full-color artwork, Ann Tenna is a timely, necessary tale for our overly “media-cated” times: the newest, much-anticipated adventure from a supremely gifted artist at the height of her powers.
Praise for Ann Tenna
“Ann Tenna is a brilliant character who captures the cosmic connection among all the forces of the universe and the world of fashion. She’s a modern, fearless, and feminine superhero, one destined to become an icon.” —Robert Verdi
“Ann Tenna is clever, witty, ironic—and although a graphic novel, it’s terrifyingly real.” —Zac Posen
“Ann Tenna is a lushly vivid, singularly beautiful, and wholly original tale of redemption. This Sweet Smell of Success meets Sex and the City mash-up would be unexpected and irresistible enough, but Marisa Acocella Marchetto literally takes us to another galaxy in her exploration of fashion, family, karma, power, and being female. With Ann Tenna, she demonstrates that her creativity knows no bounds—and that her brain is one of the most fascinating places, on this or any planet.” —Wednesday Martin, author of Primates of Park Avenue
“Marisa Marchetto has taken the graphic novel to a new level. Cancer Vixen was amazing, but Ann Tenna adds a complexity of subject matter and artistic excellence to her career.” —Erica Jong
“A high-spirited graphic novel skewers the Twitterati. Like Roz Chast, Marchetto is known for both her signature cartoons in the New Yorker and for a deeply affecting graphic memoir. Her new graphic novel tells the story of Ann Tenna, a media-obsessed NYC gossip columnist, founder of a Gawker-like website called Eyemauler. She trash-talks live from Ann Cams embedded in her powder compact and in a baguette in her Fendi bag, and despite/because of how awful she is, she’s constantly beset by a crowd of sycophants . . . After a near-fatal traffic accident, she ascends to the astral plane, where she meets her eternal self and spirit guide, who gives her ‘full body, mind and spiritual, mental, emotional and electromagnetical treatments designed so you can see who you ideally are’ . . . Ann is allowed to return to Earth in order to become a ‘transmissionary’ of the truth, but her drama draws her right back in . . . Will Ann come to her senses and save the world in time? Zany with a touch of uplifting. You will be measurably hipper after reading it.” —Kirkus
“Splashy. . . a cautionary tale of celebrity warfare, family ties, and astral projection. Ann Tenna, the reigning queen of gossip blogging, has clawed her way to international fame and fortune; she’s as loathed as she is loved, but no one can ignore her. After a catastrophic car crash, she discovers that her destiny lies far beyond the red carpet and in the stars themselves. Ann has been called by the cosmic powers into service as a beacon of love and light for a cynical world . . . Marchetto’s art balances glamour and sleaze to wonderful effect: Ann’s eyelashes are dramatically long, guardian angels prowl about in Versace originals, and goddesses wear two-foot-high platforms. With art and writing in perfect harmony, Marchetto has crafted a warm romp of a story that’s a tribute to feminine fantasy and midlife transformation, with its heart worn boldly on a beautifully tailored sleeve.” —Publishers Weekly
“I am in awe: this is the work of a master craftsman at the top of her game. Ann Tenna is a great work of art, its storytelling fabulous and fresh. Marisa Acocella Marchetto defines our moment with social commentary that’s sharp, witty, and wise. Here is a universe of characters that will amaze and enchant you—a winning narrative that is timely, bold, and brilliant. Brava Marisa!” —Adriana Trigiani, author of Big Stone Gap and The Shoemaker’s Wife