"Hypnotizing...Zapata reinterprets the extent and toll of exile on Earth, the gulf between universes of human experience."–
The New York Times Book Review "Deftly conjured...thematically vital...Zapata's carefully crafted prose oscillates between matter-of-fact and lyrically poetic."–
The Washington Post "Smart and heart-piercing,
Lost Book is a story of displacement, erasure, identity, mythology, and the ability of literature to simultaneously express and transcend our lives... Zapata illuminates the reality-inventing power of storytelling itself."
–NPR "[An] expansive, big-hearted and time-hopping debut...[Zapata's] sensibility is one of great love for human beings and for life itself."–
Chicago Tribune "A mix of realist and speculative styles, this ambitious literary debut has earned Zapata comparisons to Jesmyn Ward."–
Boston Globe "[An] elegant and sweeping multigenerational, international story of lives marked by political violence and bound by the shared condition of exile."–
Salon "An absolutely stunning piece of work, and it is the best book you'll read this year."–
Newcity Lit "As intriguing as the plot may sound upfront, it can't speak to the otherworldly beauty of Michael Zapata's writing. Don't even bother trying to mark all the gorgeous passages that give you goosebumps, because there wouldn't be much left unmarked. Zapata's lyrical style has firm roots in Gabriel García Márquez's work, with a boldness of delivery to the tune of Jorge Luis Borges...Zapata has treated us to a thrillingly mysterious storyline with a beautiful payoff."–
BookPage STARRED review "Zapata spins an iridescent web of grief, loss, and memory....A lush, spellbinding tale."–
Booklist STARRED review "An illuminating work on trauma and the transience of human existence... A heady literary and genre-bending novel for fans of Jorge Luis Borges, Carlos Fuentes, and Adolfo Bioy Caseres."–
Library Journal STARRED review "Zapata's debut novel is a wonderful merging of adventure with thoughtful but urgent meditations on time, history, and surviving tragedy. The characters are richly drawn, and the prose is striking.... A luminous novel about the deep value of telling stories."–
Kirkus Reviews "Digging into themes of regeneration and rejuvenation, Zapata's marriage of speculative and realist styles makes for a harrowing, immersive tale that will appeal to fans of Jesmyn Ward's
Salvage the Bones."–
Publishers Weekly "Art-within-art."–
The Millions "Exquisite... Zapata shows that the multiverses we crave are contained within each person, each event. Every new story we hear is a parallel universe in our own backyard, if only we cultivate the ability to listen."–
Little Village Magazine "A blending of speculative discussions, meta writing, surreal situations and almost-fantastical realism.... In the span of a very tight novel, [Zapata] bounces through parallel Earths with the mission of preserving various fictional histories."–
Jackson Free Press "This wonder of a novel speaks to the power of storytelling across generations."–
LitHub "A structurally bold, big-hearted novel about miracles both real and fictional."–
Vol. 1 Brooklyn "A globe-circling and generation-spanning debut that expands the notion of home and the meaning of storytelling... A masterfully written novel that finds worlds of possibility in the ways that books and history connect us all."–
Chicago Review of Books "Rich in imagination,
The Lost Book of Adana Moreau is a gorgeous, heartbreaking examination of exile, diaspora, and family that spans multiple narratives across space and time."–
Chicago Magazine "A luminous debut... a tribute to the power of storytelling and the way we cherish its gifts."–
NOLA.com "Captures the feeling of drifting on an ocean of voices, propelled by the desire to hear and honor each one....Zapata's trance-like storytelling really does make one question if there could be parallel worlds, and makes the reader contemplate these infinite possible worlds."–
Jewish Book Council "Sensational...weaves a modern tale of dispossession and imaginary books in the poetic language of dreams.
. a masterpiece of imagination, poetic language, and serious commentary on the human condition. I highly recommend it."–
Somos En Escrito "Readers of Gabriel García Márquez, Italo Calvino, and even Studs Terkel can all find something to love in Zapata's detailed world-building and heart-stopping prose."–
The A.V. Club "This bold, inventive debut moves through the twentieth century like a cyclone.
The Lost Book of Adana Moreau opens with American Marines in Santo Domingo, tears on through New Orleans and reaches a roaring end in the Atacama Desert of Chile. Michael Zapata writes as skillfully of rebellion as he does of joy and every page of
The Lost Book of Adana Moreau comes alive."–
Idra Novey, author of Ways to Disappear and Those Who Knew "The Lost Book of Adana Moreau is a hypnotic, whirling meditation on displacement and exile. This is a novel that cherishes the bonds between people even when those bonds are seemingly severed by time and distance. Zapata is a brilliant new voice who controls impermanence, asymmetry, and possibility like a classical composer with perfect pitch."–
Maurice Ruffin, author of We Cast a Shadow "Zapata is a thrilling new talent. Alternating between the quest for a man in post-Katrina New Orleans for whom a mystery manuscript was left to be posthumously delivered, and the tale the manuscript itself tells,
The Lost Book of Adana Moreau is an ambitious novel that probes for friendship, the possibility of parallel worlds, and the way the real and the unreal meet at every moment."–
Ingrid Rojas Contreras, author of Fruit of the Drunken Tree "
The Lost Book of Adana Moreau is a profound novel about the persistence of stories and the singular power that books can conjure. Zapata is a luminous writer–a rule-breaker in the best way, and a storyteller who weaves between eras and genres with fluidity and grace. I loved every page of this bold debut."–
Matthew Sullivan, author of Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore "Spellbinding and sage,
The Lost Book of Adana Moreau is a beautifully imagined saga. Adana Moreau's long lost novel unites a fascinating cast of characters with a hypnotic pull, weaving together their lives and transcending time. Michael Zapata steers us on a journey through history, friendship, family, the extraordinary, the ordinary, and even the stars. The Lost Book of Adana Moreau is a rich and philosophically poignant homage to the metaphysical magic of storytelling."–
Kira Jane Buxton, author of Hollow Kingdom "
The Lost Book of Adana Moreau is a stunner–equal parts epic and intimate, thrilling and elegiac. As the novel bounds effortlessly through time, a powerful ode to the mysteries that echo across generations, the wonder of artistic creation, and the profound unknowability of what exactly constitutes "reality" emerges. Michael Zapata's inventive, twisty plot will keep you reading through the night, and his indelible characters will make a home in your heart."–
Laura van den Berg, author of The Third Hotel
