Beta Vulgaris

Beta Vulgaris by Margie Sarsfield is out now, published February 11, 2025.
Beta Vulgaris
Published

Published: February 11, 2025

Readers also liked these books:

Yesteryear
On the Calculation of Volume IV (On the Calculation of Volume #4)
Food Person
The River Is Waiting
Beta Vulgaris Release Date: February 11, 2025
Check availability on Amazon
As an Amazon Associate we may earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.

A young woman’s seasonal job takes a dark, surreal turn in this vivid and surprising debut. When Elise and her boyfriend, Tom, set off for Minnesota, all she knows about harvesting sugar beets (Beta vulgaris) is that her paycheck will cover a few months’ rent on their Brooklyn apartment.

She’ll try anything to escape the incessant debt collection calls—and chronic anxieties about her body and her relationship. But as the grueling graveyard shifts set in, Elise notices strange threatening texts, a mysterious rash, a string of disappearances from the workers’ campsite, and snatches of a hypnotic voice coming from the beet pile itself.

As crewmembers vanish, Elise obsesses over Tom’s closeness with their charismatic coworker Cee and falls back on self-destructive patterns of disordered eating and dissociation. Against the horrors of her uncertain future, is the siren song of the beet pile almost . . . appealing?

Biting and eerie, Beta Vulgaris harnesses an audacious premise to undermine straightforward narratives of class, trauma, consumption, and redemption.

Excitement Rating
[Average Rating: 0]

Genre: Literary Fiction

Margie Sarsfield

More books from Margie Sarsfield

For book clubs & dedicated readers


Book club reading journal for tracking discussions and releases

Track your reading and discussions

If you’re following upcoming releases or reading along with a book club, this Book Club Journal helps you keep notes, track discussions, and plan what to read next.

View the Book Club Journal on Amazon

Recommended Book Release Guides
Excitement Rating
[Average Rating: 0]

Similar Books Liked By Our Readers

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *