Mostly Dead Things: Kristen Arnett’s Tender Orlando Tale
In a family-run taxidermy shop in Central Florida, grief and love take some very unusual forms. Kristen Arnett’s bestselling debut, Mostly Dead Things, is a darkly funny, deeply tender novel rooted firmly in the everyday Florida that tourists rarely see.
The story centers on Jessa-Lynn Morton, who inherits the family taxidermy business after a devastating loss. As her mother channels her own grief into provocative art made from the shop’s mounted animals, Jessa tries to hold the family and the business together, all while sorting through tangled love and old heartbreak.
Arnett, an Orlando native, writes her home turf with unglamorous honesty and real warmth. This is the Florida of strip malls, lizards on the screen door, and sticky summer heat, and she finds genuine beauty in it. The novel earned wide acclaim for its sharp humor and its big, aching heart.
It is a story about family, art, and learning to move forward, set in a Florida that feels lived-in and true. Find Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett and meet one of the state’s most original voices.
