Bleaker House: Chasing My Novel to the End of the World

Memoir, travelog, writer's lament, Stevens's book is a lot of things—a glimpse at an author's process, a rumination on loneliness vs. solitude, the consequence of a seemingly arbitrary choice (take a map, pick a place), and what happens when you try to survive on powdered foods and Ferrero Rocher for an extended period of time. Eat, Pray, Love this is not, though that does make an amusing cameo. Stevens isn't out to find herself; she's out to find her novel. She wants to thrive on extreme discipline and no distractions and travels to Bleaker Island in the Falklands to work. What happens in between is the story of creating this volume. In a curious, experimental blend of fiction, memoir, and story, this book takes the reader on an unexpected journey. You expect to discover a novel at the end, but instead you unearth a voice that is as unique as the rugged little island of Bleaker.