MARIA HUMMEL is a novelist and poet. Her novel, Still Lives, was a Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club pick, Book of the Month Club pick, and BBC Culture Best Book of 2018, and has been optioned for television and translated into multiple languages. She is also the author of, most recently, Lesson in Red; as well as Motherland, a novel, a San Francisco Chronicle Book of the Year; and House and Fire, winner of the APR/Honickman Poetry Prize. She has worked and taught at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Stanford University; and the University of Vermont. She lives in Vermont with her husband and sons.
“It’s a thrilling mystery that will leave you wondering which
characters you can and can’t trust . . . There’s a twist at the end
that still keeps us up at night, it's THAT good.” —Reese
Witherspoon (A Reese’s Book Club x Hello Sunshine Selection)
A REESE'S BOOK CLUB x HELLO SUNSHINE Selection
A BOOK OF THE MONTH Selection
An Amazon Best Mystery/Thriller of the Year
Named a Best Book to Read by Time, Entertainment
Weekly, Bustle, Buzzfeed, The Daily Beast, The
Guardian, Refinery29, and more.
Praise for Still Lives
“[A] mysterious page turner.” —TIME, 1 of 22 New Books to Read This
Summer
“Mystery and murder cloud this feminist story set in the heart of
Los Angeles’ art scene. When an avant–garde artist goes missing on
the day her groundbreaking exhibition opens, the story spins out in
many provocative directions.” —Entertainment Weekly, 1 of 20 New
Books to Read in June
“It’s a thrilling mystery that will leave you wondering which
characters you can and can’t trust . . . There’s a twist at the end
that still keeps us up at night, it's THAT good.” —Reese
Witherspoon (A Reese’s Book Club x Hello Sunshine Selection)
“A suspenseful, splashy story about fame, sex, and how our culture
views women’s bodies . . . I also loved that it tackled the sticky
subject of how women are portrayed in art, culture, and the
media—and the consequences of those portrayals. This is a thrilling
book, and a much–needed one. Read it and you’ll see what I mean.”
—Book of the Month
“[A] splendid art–world thriller . . . Ms. Hummel captures
characters in a single stroke . . . Having herself worked in a
museum, she speaks with authority of that sealed world . . . Still
Lives is both savvy and lyrical—the perfect beach read for either
coast.” —The Wall Street Journal
“This is not only a satisfying mystery, but also an ambitious,
intelligent and often uncomfortable study of gender, violence and
art.” —The Guardian
“Yet while Still Lives, evidently, has a heck of a hook to draw in
a wide swath of readers, the book isn’t quite the escapist thriller
the bones of the plot might indicate. Indeed, it’s a provocative
book that digs deeply into art’s history of depicting women
brutally and fetishistically, and that probes difficult questions
about Western culture’s view and treatment of women’s bodies. It
manages an impressive twofer: It sucks you into a compelling story,
before forcing you to contemplate the big, uncomfortable ideas it’s
considering. It’s a fresh choice for Reese’s Book Club, to be
sure.” —Entertainment Weekly
“Reese Witherspoon's new book club pick is a dark, feminist
thriller, and you're not going to want to miss it.” —Bustle
“Maria Hummel's Still Lives is moody and restless, propelled by a
gradually intensifying sense of unease. Hummel envelops the reader
in the LA art scene . . . Her journey illuminates the misogyny
which allows a culture to turn murdered women into objects for
consumption.” —BuzzFeed, 1 of 30 Exciting New Books to Add to your
Summer Reading List
“Hummel’s fourth novel shows her genius for layering levels of
meaning, and her sophisticated sense of the mercurial, sometimes
corrupt art world, from dealers to wealthy patrons, including those
so secretive they want to purchase work (and drive up an artist’s
worth) without leaving a trail . . . Maggie’s stake in this story
makes for unrelenting suspense.” —BBC Culture, 1 of 10 Books to
Read in June
“A delicious Los Angeles noir that combines the glitz and glamor of
fine art with the grit and grime of crime and sexual
objectification, Still Lives is a thought–provoking novel packaged
in one hell of a mystery.” —The Daily Beast, One of The Best Summer
Beach Reads of the Year
“Maria Hummel’s novel is classic noir made modern.” —Refinery29,
One of the Best Books of June 2018
“Before Reese Witherspoon made it her August book club pick, this
reader fell head–over–heels for Maria Hummel’s captivating thriller
Still Lives. A pulsating mystery about a famous artist who goes
missing on the opening night of her biggest exhibit yet, this tense
narrative explores not only the dark underbelly of the Los Angeles
art scene, but our culture’s disturbing obsession with violence
against women, and I savored every last word of it.” —Bustle, 1 of
5 Thrillers & Mysteries That Made Me Fall in Love with the Genre
Again
“While Still Lives is a deeply affecting examination of how our
culture fetishizes female victims of crime—be it in art, news, or
publishing—it will also have readers feverishly turning pages to
discover the fate of engaging characters who are more than symbols
of what’s wrong or right about Los Angeles. It’s a stunning
achievement for a writer who perfectly captures an outsider’s
ambivalence about the city’s pluses and minuses, and most notably
its sensational crimes and the dark angels we make of its victims.”
—Los Angeles Times
“Still Lives, both the fictional exhibit and the actual book
itself, make an important statement about how our society too often
fetishizes violence against women. Plus, it’s the perfect companion
to this week’s other big art–centric story: Ocean’s 8.”
—HelloGiggles, 1 of 15 Books Coming Out This Week That You Don't
Want to Miss
“Witherspoon loves a good thriller—and so do we. If you haven't
picked up Hummel's fast–paced mystery yet, consider it the perfect
winter break read.” —Apartment Therapy
“[A] spellbinding new novel . . . No doubt comparisons to Raymond
Chandler’s best work will rain down upon Still Lives, dotted as it
is with trenchant observations of LA and the human condition. Like
Chandler, Hummel is capable of limning out a ripping yarn replete
with high fashion, high finance and high society . . . And not
unlike another master of the mystery, Erle Stanley Gardner, Hummel
includes an intellectually satisfying Perry Mason moment that also
provides an interesting twist. It would be damning with faint
praise to call Still Lives a contender for best beach read of the
year—like calling Pablo Picasso a really good painter—but Still
Lives is both that and so much more.” —BookPage
“Does your book club love art, feminism, and a riveting mystery? If
so, Still Lives is the ideal novel to discuss over a glass of wine
and some snacks . . . Book clubs will love dissecting the gender
commentary and the interpersonal relationships in Maria Hummel’s
novel.” —Bookish, A June Book Club Pick
“There's so much to recommend about Maria Hummel's Still Lives.
It's a page–turner, for one. There's also some profound commentary
on art and society—and, almost magically, she does it without
sacrificing the pure story. The setting—the Los Angeles art
scene—is cool, a little foreign–feeling, and really fun to read
about. In a mystery, setting can lift the story to a higher realm.
Such is the case in Still Lives.” —Omnivoracious
“Within Still Lives, the new novel by Maria Hummel (Motherland,
Wilderness Run), is a taut thriller with enough compelling elements
for a propulsive book . . . Still Lives is an effective thriller
with a delectable final 100 pages. It reaches an addictive pitch
that all books of this ilk aspire to. The more Hummel settles into
the plot machinations the better the novel gets, as the hazy
ideological questions and confusing passages fall away . . . Hummel
engages with complicated and challenging questions about the
meaning and impact of art that depicts violence, and she writes a
hell of an ending.” —Los Angeles Review of Books
“One of the smartest thrillers I’ve read in a long time . . . Still
Lives is a gripping page–turner, but it’s also more than that. I
appreciate how Hummel—much like Kim Lord—used the art of
storytelling to make me consider the ways in which our culture is
complicit in violence against women. In the wake of the Me Too
movement, I think a book like this is necessary. It prompts readers
to look inward at how we view women and how we consume stories
about violence against them.” —Adison Godfrey, BookMark, WPSU
“Still Lives [is] the fast–paced feminist thriller about the L.A.
art world you don't want to miss this summer . . . Still Lives is
at once a gripping and entertaining mystery, and a biting cultural
critique that seeks to understand our obsession with the violent
deaths of beautiful women . . . Reading Still Lives is like being
frozen in that feeling of fear, like being stuck in that moment
right before the mysterious stranger lurches out from the darkened
alley to grab you . . . Still Lives doesn't just ask why we are
obsessed with female murder victims. It also asks how: how we
interpret violence against women, how we consume and commodify it,
and how use it as tool of oppression . . . Still Lives is a
electrifying mystery, one that crackles with suspense and intrigue.
But it is not just an exploration of the shady underside of the
L.A. art scene, or a warning about the dangerous combination of
fame, money, and sex, and it is certainly not just a titillating
tale about a missing woman. Like the fictional exhibit it was named
after, Still Lives is an indictment of how women's bodies are
treated by a society that is determined to control and consume
them, and it's so much more than a story. Because when it comes to
fear, anxiety, violence, and abuse, as Maggie puts it, 'It's not a
story to us,' it's an experience we face every day.” —Bustle
“Her prose packs both a lyrical punch and evokes the authenticity
to make the work truly sing. The tapestry woven by Hummel in these
pages is as much an elegiac homage to the slain women depicted in
the Still Lives collection as it is a literary thriller. The novel
provides both intense, page–turning plot and poignant social
introspection, especially in regard to the media fetishization of
the killings of beautiful women, and how their deaths have come to
define their legacy.” —The Coachella Review
“The careful characterizations of the players . . . mean that, as
the mystery unfolds to reveal them as suspects or victims, the
reader feels deep empathy that comes from perceiving them as real
people, not plot devices. Hummel builds visceral intimacy around
'women’s oppressive anxiety about [their] ultimate vulnerability'
in this often uncomfortable tale about the media’s fetishistic
fascination with the violent murders of beautiful women.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A very satisfying page–turner and a selection last year for Reese
Witherspoon‘s Hello Sunshine book club, Maria Hummel’s murder
mystery novel shines a light on the behind–the–scenes workings of a
(fictional) major art museum in Los Angeles. While the whodunnit
keeps the plot moving, Hummel also takes time to illuminate how
women are portrayed as stationary objects (still lives, if you
will) in both art and the media—notably through the media and
public’s fascination with young women as murder victims throughout
history.” —Rachel King, Fortune, 1 of 7 Novels to Read on Your
Summer Travels
“In this taut take on noir, misogyny, and the art of responsible
storytelling, Hummel (Motherland, 2014, etc.) balances the glitz
and glam of the Los Angeles art world with the town tourists don’t
often see, from peeling, postwar bungalows to skid row tent cities
and suffering junkies . . . This is a whip–smart mystery and a
moving meditation on the consumption of female bodies all rolled
into one.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Hummel’s novel ultimately offers an intriguing insider’s view into
a high–stakes, turbulent industry, from peculiar artists to
fabulous exhibitions. With deliberate pacing increasing the
tension, the story line revolving around the public’s fascination
with graphic crimes against women serves as a chilling reminder
that such violence continues to occur in many forms.” —Library
Journal
“Hummel . . . presents a polished, droll, and provocative art–world
thriller . . . With a cast of strong and complicated female
characters, headed by a determined, reckless, funny, and imperiled
amateur sleuth, Hummel crafts a shrewd and suspenseful inquiry into
womanhood and the dark side of the art market, punctuated by
striking variations on identity, portraiture, and 'still lives.'“
—Booklist
“The book is both murder mystery and social commentary, and likely
to resonate with anyone who has tried to redefine themselves in a
new city far from home . . . Though Still Lives critiques the
societal obsession with violence and death, particularly death of
women, it is also a story about the opportunities one gains by
flinging oneself into a new environment. It's about trying on masks
and deciding which to keep, or which most resembles one's own
face.” —Seven Days
“[A] suspenseful and profound novel . . . This suspenseful crime
novel has echoes of far more profound questions than 'who done it?'
though: What is the role of women in the art world? Objects?
Artists? How do we view women in our society at large? What is
truly dangerous? SoCal readers will appreciate Hummel’s insider
view of L.A., too. Not just her portrayal of the sparkling L.A. art
scene, informed by her days working at MOCA, but a deep
understanding of the 'real' city: sun–bleached, peeling reality. “
—Whittier Daily News, 1 of 5 Summer Beach Reads
“Still Lives offers its readers that delicious combination of
entertainment and brilliance. It's at once profound and
suspenseful, and while the plot kept me up nights (the ending had
me gasping in surprise!), the book as a whole asks important
questions about art and representation and how we, as a culture,
objectify and endanger and victimize women. Maria Hummel has
written a remarkable, relevant, and necessary novel.” —Edan
Lepucki, author of Woman No. 17 and the New York Times bestselling
California
“There’s nothing I like better than a well–written page–turner
about the art world, and Maria Hummel has delivered this and more
with her new literary thriller, Still Lives. Flawed characters
abound as do clever plots and subplots along with irresistible
peeks into hidden chambers of the L.A. art scene. Riveting.” —B.A.
Shapiro, New York Times bestselling author of The Art Forger and
The Muralist
“A gripping mystery set inside the world of contemporary art, Still
Lives is the kind of book we all hope to stumble upon: the perfect
combination of terrific prose and compelling storytelling. Maria
Hummel has delivered the smartest, most original page–turner I've
read in a long time.” —Maggie Shipstead, author of Astonish Me and
the New York Times bestselling Seating Arrangements
“While her protagonist investigates the disappearance of a major
artist, Maria Hummel runs a shrewd parallel investigation into
culture, gender, violence, and art. Still Lives is a propulsive,
carefully crafted mystery with real thematic focus and heft.”
—Chris Bachelder, author of The Throwback Special, finalist for the
National Book Award
“As gritty and glittering as the L.A. art world it depicts, Maria
Hummel’s latest novel soars into the sun–swept heights of fame and
beauty, then plunges us into violence. In Still Lives, Hummel does
what she does best: delves with sensitivity and wit into complex,
intertwined lives, lives that strain the frames that enclose them.
Intelligent, vivid, and impeccably paced, this thrilling novel
forces us to confront how dangerous art can be.” —Kirstin Valdez
Quade, author of Night at the Fiestas
“In Still Lives, Maria Hummel delivers not only a deftly plotted
mystery, but also a rich and timely meditation on violence,
authenticity, and the cool and deceptive exteriors of modern Los
Angeles.” —Jim Gavin, author of Middle Men
Ask a Question About this Product More... |