“Apocalypse Baby is more than a compelling punk, queerish spin on the noir genre. It is a choral performance that tumbles its readers into the heart of violent spectacle, with all its attendant grief, unease, and unclarity." —Maggie Nelson, author of The Argonauts

Valentine is a wayward teenage girl on the run through Paris and Barcelona. She is tailed by two mismatched private investigators: the Hyena—part ruthless interrogator, part oversexed rock star—and Lucie, her plain and passive—almost to the point of invisible—sidekick. As their desperate search unfolds, they interrogate a suspicious cast of characters, exposing the dark heart of contemporary youth culture. In this fast-paced feminist thriller, Virginie Despentes presents a scathing social criticism with flawed, fascinating characters and spellbinding prose.

Virginie Despentes is a writer, filmmaker, and noted French feminist critic. She is the author of many award-winning books, including King Kong Theory, Apocalypse Baby (winner of the 2010 Prix Renaudot), and the Vernon Subutex trilogy (shortlisted for the 2018 International Booker Prize). She co-directed the screen adaptations of her controversial novels Baise-Moi and Bye Bye Blondie, and served as screenwriter for the adaptation of her novel Pretty Things.