Hot Pink

Adam Levin’s debut novel The Instructions was one of the most buzzed-about books of 2010, a sprawling universe of “death-defying sentences, manic wit, exciting provocations and simple human warmth” ( Rolling Stone ). Now, in the stories of Hot Pink , Levin delivers ten smaller worlds, shaken snow-globes of overweight romantics, legless prodigies, quixotic dollmakers, Chicagoland thugs, dirty old men, protective fathers, balloon-laden dumptrucks, and walls that ooze gels. Told with lust and affection, karate and tenderness, slapstickery, ferocity, and heart, Hot Pink is the work of a major talent in his sharpest form. Hot Pink* comes in three resplendent colors (pink, gray and blue). Review The Millions ' and Flavorwire 's most anticipated books of 2012. "Adam Levin's stories mine the pathos and humor of everyday life." — The New York Times Book Review " Hot Pink leaves readers [...]wondering what might be lurking nearby, on the verge of uprooting their own lives." — Chicago Magazine "Each story in this anticipated follow-up to Levin's megalithic debut The Instructions , has its own cracks-fissures in otherwise recognizable realities that expose the hidden aspects of everyday experience." — Nylon "From walls that ooze unnameable, unidentifiable gel, through makers of children's dolls designed to mimic the stages of digestive health, to old widowers in retirement looking back over their marriages, Levin manages to find the pathos and humor in living an 'ordinary' existence. Enter his world if you dare!" — The Jewish Times "Levin has a gift for voice, for creating enticing narrators. Whether it's the elderly, dirty-minded Jewish men of 'The Extra Mile' or the adolescent Italian-American toughs of 'Finch' and the white working-class boys of 'Hot Pink,' these are stories that grab the ear first.” — The LA Times “Extraordinary and bizarre.” — Chicago Sun-Times “Levin's writing isn't just clever but smart…it isn't just strange but insightful.” — The Chicago Reader “Each story is so singular and entirely different that it becomes a joy delving into each strange new world.” —Grantland.com “Levin is a genius wordsmith, constructing unorthodox, language-bending paragraphs steeped in a biting facetiousness.” — Hey, Small Press! “[Levin] writes tough, funny characters who have honest voices and who see beautiful, awful things happen. He’s also good at writing stories that make you lose track of whether they’re deeply sad or very funny.” — On The Media Blog “Levin is a writer poised to join the ranks of the best young short-story crafters” — The Daily Beast “Hot Pink is gritty. It’s sharp and it’s flashy—and most importantly, it packs one helluva literary punch.” — Pank “Levin goes places where most of us wouldn't dare let our mind wander.” —Jewish Book Council “Impossible to put down.” – The Chicagoist “Beautiful writing that is simultaneously fast, gritty, and brutal.” — InDigest "In Levin’s hands, fiction explodes again and again into something endlessly enchanting and delightfully unexpected." — San Francisco Magazine "[Adam Levin] can enter the mind of a character and write exactly what they are thinking." — Portland Book Review "Levin’s got game." — Chico News & Review "Entirely unique." — NewCity Lit “ Hot Pink really shines, showcasing the work of an author who understands the heartbreaking potential of our desire to be liked.” — BOMBLOG “Levin experiments with form, digresses within his digressions, mixes registers beautifully, and never lets realism get in the way of a good time.” — Star Tribune About the Author Adam Levin is the author of The Instructions , the winner of the New York Public Library's Young Lions Award. His stories have appeared in Tin House , McSweeney's , and Esquire . Winner of the 2003 Summer Literary Seminars Fiction Contest and the 2004 Joyce Carol Oates Fiction Prize, he lives in Chicago, where he teaches Creative Writing at the School of the Art Institute.