You Animal Machine

“This experimental memoir” tells the story of a woman “whose experiences as an American immigrant . . . encompass issues of identity and belonging” (Chicago Tribune). This is the tale of Melena, five times married, mother of three, burlesque dancer, and “the toughest, hardest-assed woman to ever eat wood and bite nails.” Located in history and memory, her life cracks open questions of identity at the heart of an American immigrant woman’s experience and becomes an argument that no existence is e