A brilliant debut from a neurodivergent author that shows the magical, sensitive world of a woman on the autism spectrum.
A young woman gets ready to go to a party. She arrives, feels overwhelmed, leaves, and then returns. Minutely attuned to the people who come into her view, and alternating between alienation and profound connection, she is hilarious, self-aware, sometimes acerbic, and painfully honest.
And by the end of the night, she's shown us something radical about love, loss, and the need to belong.
'A daring, prismatic novel about seeing and being seen, and the hunger for universal connection. Madeleine Ryan's clarity of vision imbues the ordinary - a party, strangers, inner-city streets - with cosmic significance. I came out of A Room Called Earth with fresh eyes and a full heart.'
-Laura Elizabeth Woollett, author of Beautiful Revolutionary
'In this precious gemstone of a novel, Ryan communicates a lush, raw, addictive truth with her prosaic yet theatrical prose, her protagonist witnessing the world in a way that had me pausing for long deep breaths after most chapters. The world of this book is the world of a woman who knows herself because she has needed to, and a woman who many might recognise, despite her oneness. Reading Ryan is to be taught and to be refreshed, and I will return to her pages in the future, to remind me of the beauty there is in my own room called earth.'
-Laura McPhee-Browne, author of Cherry Beach
' M uch of the novel's appeal comes from its illustration and examination of the narrator's blunt perspective on life and specifically social interaction ... Ryan's ability to convey her narrator's unique perspective makes it a worthwhile read.'
-Kirkus Reviews
