Critical Praise

“Quirky. . . . Wilson’s Perfect Little World finds its bliss in the vast disconnect between people’s best intentions and where they land.” — Entertainment Weekly

“Charming. . . . Wilson pulls off his sweet-and-tart tone. . . . The novel delights in the project’s Willy Wonkaesque sense of antic chaos.” — Washington Post

“Persistently compassionate. . . . Wilson’s best moments are funny and earnest. . . . [His] crisp language and smart plotting make Perfect Little World immensely likable and absolutely enjoyable.” — GQ

“A rumination on families—what they can look like, why we need them and how they should be defined. Family is far more than a biological bond; that’s not a groundbreaking idea. But Wilson has found a lovely new way of telling readers something they know by heart.” — Houston Chronicle

“The sheer energy of imagination in Wilson’s work makes other writers of realistic fiction look lazy. . . . The novel’s grand finale . . . reminds us that not everything unpredictable is painful or bad, and that conventional arrangements have no monopoly on the profound connections that make family.” — Newsday

“Stellar. . . . Compelling. . . . Realer and wiser and sadder and eventually reassuring about human nature than dozens of other novels.” — Booklist, Starred Review

“The compensation is a greater richness in the characters, and a refreshingly un-ironic attitude toward love — Knoxville News-Sentinel

“Bittersweet. . . . Wilson delves into the drama and tensions inherent in this strange aquarium. . . . A moving and sincere reflection on what it truly means to be a family — Kirkus (Starred Review)

“Sweet and thoroughly satisfying. . . . Wilson grounds his premise in credible human motivations and behavior, resulting in a memorable cast of characters.” — Publishers Weekly

“[A] moving novel about love, parenting, and the families we create for ourselves.” — Library Journal

Praise for The Family Fang — Kevin Wilson's acclaimed first novel

“It’s such a minty fresh delight to open up The Family Fang, and feel the revitalizing blast of original thought; robust invention. . . . Wilson’s inventive genius never stops. . . . [It] will linger in your mind long after.” — NPR, Fresh Air

“Wilson’s ambition alone is exciting. . . . [His] writing has a Houdinilike perfection, wherein no matter how grim the variables, each lovely sentence manages to escape with all its parts intact.” — Boston Globe

“[A] wonderful debut about a performance artist couple and their long-suffering kids.” — People

“Kevin Wilson expertly navigates between pathos and black comedy while negotiating a smart debate about the human cost of sacrificing all for one’s art. Fang has bite but is also incredibly fun.” — Time

“Wilson writes stylishly, with a clear eye for family dysfunction and the absurdity of the contemporary art world, but his real skill is technical, building up a slow-drip mystery in which everyone is suspected of high crimes or high art until the very end.” — Esquire

“Wilson’s creative and funny novel examines two young lives in the process of getting skewed, all in the pursuit of art with a capital A.” — Entertainment Weekly

“Inventive and hilarious. This is complex psychological ground. . . . Wilson navigates it with a calm experience.” — Wall Street Journal