The Lady Waiting

Reviews

Praise for The Lady Waiting:

“A breakneck romp of a novel with a stolen Vermeer, a tangled love triangle, a half-baked heist and enough depraved opulence to make Gatsby gasp.” —People

“A very entertaining novel. . . . Zyzak constructs a nicely entangled web of secrets and undeclared loyalties.” —Wall Street Journal

“We're suckers for stories about grifters. . . and this novel from Magdalena Zyzak doesn't disappoint.” —Town & Country

“A riotous, thoroughly entertaining novel. . . . [and] lively picaresque.” —Center for Fiction

“With its madcap plot, fantastic central characters, and White Lotus–style wealth porn. . . Zyzak’s second novel seems like catnip for Hollywood. Funny, original, worldly, and very cool. A standout.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A rollicking tale of sex, money, and art theft. . . . Zyzak constructs a playful narrative. . . [raising] the stakes again and again. This is great fun.” —Publishers Weekly

“Electric with clever plays on language and accents, identities and desires, crimes petty and hellish, Zyzak’s geopolitical romp is canny, sexy, and mordant.” —Booklist

"A nail-biting delight.” —The Millions

“This novel pops. Magdalena Zyzak is in complete control and her world comes through with the clarity of the Vermeer at the center of it all. A cosmopolitan, sexy and funny novel.” —Percival Everett, New York Times-bestselling author of James

“A juicy and insanely original novel overflowing with effervescent prose and captivating characters. Audacious, entertaining, and over-the-top, this is the literary equivalent of your most bingeable show.” —Rachel Yoder, author of Nightbitch
 
“A novel rich with charm and wisdom, crackling with wit and such a playful, subversive tone you might not catch the deeper isolation it examines so well. A superb accomplishment.” —Victor LaValle, author of The Changeling

“A deliciously madcap, wholly original tale of friendship, lust, and ambition. Zyzak ably explores what it takes to survive in a world turned upside down—and what is lost when one succeeds. I savored every word.” –Kirstin Chen, New York Times-Bestselling author of Counterfeit

“With insights and characters so fresh they made me giddy, The Lady Waiting is raucous, sexy, and deeply hilarious.” –Julia May Jonas, author of Vladimir

“A wildly crazy and funny novel, full of exotic characters and executed to technical perfection by Magdalena Zyzak. It made my brain more glamorous.” –Cat Marnell, author of How to Murder Your Life

Praise for The Ballad of Barnabas Pierkiel:

“Inventive and funny. . . unexpectedly moving.” ―The New York Times

“A wickedly good debut [with] a fleet-footed, darkly comic spirit . . . Zyzak's wicked wit expresses a matter-of-fact acceptance of the world as it is, rife with cruelty and suffering, but also with kindness, love and a lot of laughs…Mark Twain, for one, would have thoroughly enjoyed the all-too-human misadventures she describes.” ―Los Angeles Times

“Make way for Magdalena Zyzak! She writes in a way uniquely her own and approaches the English language with the joy and reverence of her countryman Joseph Conrad. The Ballad of Barnabas Pierkiel is a heady drink.” ―Gary Shteyngart Expand reviews