"Is The Poison Girl myth, legend, an immigrant daughter's tale, a Borges-like labyrinth, a culinary report on herbs and plants, or the edgy world of a young woman's escape from her father? It may be all of these at once. The novel is a wonder. . . . Written in brilliantly lucid chapters, it captures the imagination and, deservedly, the reader's admiration."
— Gary Soto, author of The Elements of San Joaquin
"Manizza Roszak's skillful pacing moves the plot along efficiently and sparingly, captivating readers along the way. Her prose is remarkable for its mercurial points of view. . . . This modern novel blends gothic and supernatural elements into a propulsive, otherworldly tale."
— Booklist
Spuyten Duyvil announces the upcoming release of The Poison Girl, the debut novel from Suzanne Manizza Roszak.
It's 1973. Bice Rappa's mother is dead, her older brother has disappeared, and her controlling father barely lets her leave their house in Queens. As he reads books on horticulture and dissects the bodies of birds, she dreams of going to school—that is, until she finds out that the man who is raising her has made her poisonous.
For Bice, escaping home means befriending an orphaned daredevil, charming the donor coordinator at a Manhattan fertility clinic, and becoming the single mother of a baby named Mari. For her brother, it means living in a windowless room in an artist commune where he struggles with obsessive fears of climate crisis and death. Against the apocalyptic backdrop of Y2K, their father will want nothing more than to track down—and abduct—his only grandchild. When the Rappas' paths cross again, will Bice and her daughter be able to protect each other?
A contemporary gothic retelling of Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Rappaccini's Daughter," The Poison Girl follows three generations of girls and women through New York City as they navigate experiences of diaspora and neurodivergence, patriarchal architectures, and environmental violence.
"A stunning work richly imagined, and veined with sentences so bright and alluring Manizza Roszak might have crafted them from a rare poison. . . . A true work of art."
— Peter Kispert, author of I Know You Know Who I Am
"With echoes of Mary Shelley, Kate Chopin, and Laura Esquivel, Manizza Roszak masterfully displays the craft of storytelling. . . . A dark family saga full of generational striations."
— Shome Dasgupta, author of The Sea Singer
"Manizza Roszak's haunting prose and shifting perspectives expose the psyche of damage. . . . The staccato moments that make up The Poison Girl resonate as a healing whole—quietly hopeful, deeply human."
— Adam Berlin, author of Belmondo Style