Biography of X

When the wild and enigmatic artist X is found dead in her office, her widow, CM, begins a journey through her past to try to find the real person beneath her beloved’s facade. Set in an alternative postwar America, CM begins learning the history of the fascist Southern Territory and finds more questions than answers about her late wife’s life. Lacey’s (Pew) latest is a richly layered and complex book with surprising moments of levity. Narrator Cassandra Campbell perfectly captures the web of grief, lies, and questions that ensnare CM as she grapples with the unexpected death of her wife. In flashbacks, Campbell harnesses the powerful personality of a woman who tightly controls her own narrative and breaks barriers, both literal and figurative. The alternative history is well done and includes many famous names that may be recognizable to listeners, which further reinforces Lacey’s worldbuilding.