Where to Start Reading Adrienne Brodeur
For most readers, the absolute best place to start is with her sensational 2019 memoir, Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me. This book catapulted Brodeur into the literary spotlight and perfectly introduces the themes that define her writing: complex family secrets, parental influence, and the atmospheric setting of Cape Cod. It serves as an excellent foundation for her later fiction, particularly because it shows how her real-life experiences shaped the emotional landscape of her novels.
If you prefer starting with fiction, head straight to Little Monsters (2023). While it is a novel, it shares the same sharp psychological tension and coastal Massachusetts backdrop as her memoir, showing her growth as a contemporary novelist.
Adrienne Brodeur Books by Publication Order
Standalone Novels
- Man Camp (2005) – Brodeur's debut novel is a lighthearted, satirical romantic comedy set in New York and a dairy farm in upstate New York. It follows Lucy and Martha as they attempt to teach the men in their lives basic life skills and chivalry. Tone-wise, this is a major departure from her later, more serious works.
- Little Monsters (2023) – A gripping, character-driven family saga set during the summer of 2016 on Cape Cod. It follows the complicated relationships of the Gardner siblings (Abby and Ken) and their brilliant but unstable oceanographer father, Adam, as they prepare for his 70th birthday and secrets begin to unravel.
Biographies & Memoirs
- Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me (2019) – A memoir recounting Brodeur's childhood and adulthood, starting when she was 14 and became her mother's co-conspirator and confidante in a decades-long extramarital affair. It is an intimate and harrowing look at family loyalty, manipulation, and healing.
Edited Anthologies
- Francis Ford Coppola's Zoetrope: All-Story 2 (2001) – A collection of short stories and essays edited by Adrienne Brodeur and Samantha Schnee. This anthology showcases pieces from the award-winning literary magazine Zoetrope: All-Story, which Brodeur co-founded alongside filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola.
What to Know Before You Start
When diving into Adrienne Brodeur’s books, it is helpful to keep a few context clues in mind:
- The Cape Cod Connection: Cape Cod is not just a backdrop in Brodeur's works; it functions almost as a character itself. The shifting tides, windswept shores, and isolated communities mirror the internal landscapes of her characters.
- The Shift in Tone: There is a stark contrast between her debut novel Man Camp (a humorous, lighthearted look at modern dating) and her later books, Wild Game and Little Monsters (which are deeply emotional, serious, and psychologically complex). If you did not enjoy the chick-lit style of Man Camp, do not let that deter you from reading her later, highly acclaimed works.
- Upcoming Works and Rumored Titles: Some early biographical sketches and online databases make reference to a forthcoming novel under the working title Motherload. While this was teased as a project exploring family ties, it has not yet been published under this name.
- Adaptations: Her bestselling memoir Wild Game has been optioned and is in development for a film adaptation, with screenwriter Nick Hornby attached to adapt the screenplay.