Pacifique

In "Pacifique," Tia meets Pacifique, a once-in-a-lifetime love, and spends five wild days and nights together. When she wakes up in an ambulance with a broken collarbone, she is forced to face the possibility that Pacifique may be a figment of her imagination. She meets Andrew, a contemplative man with schizophrenia, who falls in love with her and tells her to forget Pacifique. The novel explores the dark corners of delusion and a mental-health system that consigns people to endless limbo. It is a stunning, smart, and revolutionary novel that forces readers to see clearly what so often remains hidden.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 24 November 2022
Publisher: Coach House Books

LAMBDA Literary's October selection of LGBTQIA+ literature is highly anticipated, and the 49th Shelf Top 22 Books of 2022 list has revealed some exciting titles. One such book is "Girl, Interrupted meets Rebecca" in this tense tale of love and madness. When Tia meets Pacifique, it's a once-in-a-lifetime love. They spend five wild days and nights together, and then Tia wakes up in an ambulance with a broken collarbone in a bike accident - and no trace of Pacifique. Unable to convince anyone that Pacifique exists, Tia ends up in a psychiatric ward, forced to face the possibility that this perfect lover may be a figment of her imagination. While there, Tia meets Andrew, a contemplative man with schizophrenia, who falls in love with Tia. He, too, tells her to forget Pacifique. Who to believe? The medical establishment and her fellow patients? Or her fragile human memory? And if Pacifique truly is a figment, is life in the "real world" with Andrew enough?

In concise and vibrant prose, Sarah L. Taggart illuminates the dark corners of delusion (or is it delusion?) and a mental-health system that consigns people to endless limbo. Lucid and destabilizing, graceful and raw, this novel asks: is losing one's sanity so different from falling in love? Deborah Willis, author of "The Dark and Other Love Stories," praised the book, saying, "Pacifique turns the psychological thriller on its head, allowing madness to be a meaningful lens through which to see the world instead of a cheap plot twist. Taggart has created a stunning, smart, and revolutionary novel here - one that forces its readers to see clearly what so often remains hidden. This book means so much to me. One of the best I've read in years."

Alicia Elliott, author of "A Mind Spread Out On The Ground," also praised the book, saying, "This book means so much to me. One of the best I've read in years. Pacifique turns the psychological thriller on its head, allowing madness to be a meaningful lens through which to see the world instead of a cheap plot twist. Taggart has created a stunning, smart, and revolutionary novel here - one that forces its readers to see clearly what so often remains hidden. This book means so much to me. One of the best I've read in years."

Weight: 380g
Dimension: 140 x 216 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781552454473