A story of love and family, raves and Kafka, staying up all night and surviving the mistakes of youth, Good...
“An exhilarating debut novel” (R.O. Kwon, The New York Times Book Review) about the daughter of Afghan refugees and her year of self-discovery—a portrait of the artist as a young woman set in a Berlin that can’t escape its history
A girl can get in almost anywhere, even if she can’t get out.
“A no-bullsh*t, must-read debut.”—Kaveh Akbar
“Kaleidoscopic, full of style and soul.”—Raven Leilani
“Aber writes with . . . masterful precision.”—Leila Lalami, The Atlantic
“Once in a blue moon a debut novel comes along, announcing a voice quite unlike any other, with a layered story and sentences that crackle and pop, begging to be read aloud. Aria Aber’s splendid Good Girl introduces just such a voice . . . Aber, an award-winning poet, strikes gold here, much like Kaveh Akbar did in last year’s acclaimed Martyr!“—Los Angeles Times
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION • LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE
In Berlin’s artistic underground, where techno and drugs fill warehouses still pockmarked from the wars of the twentieth century, nineteen-year-old Nila at last finds her tribe. Born in Germany to Afghan parents, raised in public housing graffitied with swastikas, drawn to philosophy, photography, and sex, Nila has spent her adolescence disappointing her family while searching for her voice as a young woman and artist.
Then in the haze of Berlin’s legendary nightlife, Nila meets Marlowe, an American writer whose fading literary celebrity opens her eyes to a life of personal and artistic freedom. But as Nila finds herself pulled further into Marlowe’s controlling orbit, ugly, barely submerged racial tensions begin to roil Germany—and Nila’s family and community. After a year of running from her future, Nila stops to ask herself the most important question: Who does she want to be?
A story of love and family, raves and Kafka, staying up all night and surviving the mistakes of youth, Good Girl is the virtuosic debut novel by a celebrated young poet and, now, a major new voice in fiction.
Aria Aber’s debut novel Good Girl follows 19-year-old Berlin-born Nila Haddadi, the daughter of Afghan immigrants, who navigates the collision of heritage and freedom in...Read More
Aria Aber’s debut novel Good Girl follows 19-year-old Berlin-born Nila Haddadi, the daughter of Afghan immigrants, who navigates the collision of heritage and freedom in an electrifying artistic subculture. As Nila chases photographic dreams and battles grief, she dives into a world of underground clubs, drugs, and a fraught romance with older American writer Marlowe. Through her voice, Berlin pulses, not just as a backdrop, but as a living, breathing character. Critics praise Aber’s writing as “poet’s novel, replete with sparkling prose”.
What stands out is the emotional authenticity: Nila’s internal monologues invite you in, raw and impulsive, yet never distant. Though the pacing slows at moments, the vivid texture of place and identity more than compensate. As Kirkus notes, “Art is a fragile magic, just like love” — kirkusreviews.com.
A bold, lyrical debut — powerful in emotion and atmosphere, if not breakneck in pace.
Why you’ll love it:
Good Girl offers a poignant journey through the life of Nila, a 19-year-old Afghan-German artist navigating Berlin’s underground art scene. It’s a coming-of-age tale that subtly wrestles with heritage, autonomy, and the creative process.
