I Fear My Pain Interests You

An absurdist novel about fame, culture and connections, bodies and breakdowns from the author of The Superrationals

Margot’s on her way to Montana, with blood on her face and a jeweled cigarette case full of pills. She’s fresh from a bad break-up and fleeing the cold comforts of her famous family – legendary punk parents and an overbearing show business scion of a grandmother.  

But while the eyes of the world are elsewhere for the first time in Margot's life, a graveyard encounter with a disgraced doctor and the discovery of a dozen old film reels leads to a troubling new subjecthood, as her congenital inability to feel pain puts her center stage for one man’s desire and ambition.    

A jarringly sensual book about the peculiarities of our bodies and the impossibilities of our families, and a young woman trying to find a way forward with both.

“The cool girl book of the year” – Jordan Richman, 032c

“The hard, clipped, and cool voice that speaks from within Stephanie LaCava's I Fear My Pain Interests You will live in my head for a long time. Here is a novel that seems to shrug off the pain of being young and adrift in the world, while secretly, it draws you into the dark recesses of loneliness and disillusionment. I fear her book will destroy you.” – Merve Emre

“I can’t wait to be lured into another of LaCava's stylized settings, this time an exploration of 1960s cinema and bodily absurdities.” – Vulture

“A sharp critical vision lurches into focus: of culture as commodity, of suffering as currency, and of the female body as this agon's generalized battleground.” – Tom McCarthy, author of Remainder

“I haven't read a book in a while that just pulled me in, and you're so immersed in the characters and in the world. It's quite a slice of life.” – Kaia Gerber, Vanity Fair