Machine

by Susan Steinberg · 2019

When a teenage girl drowns on a sun‑blazed summer at a seaside resort, the ripple of guilt spreads through a tangled web of privileged locals and outsider youths. Susan Steinberg’s debut novel, *Machine*, follows a restless narrator as she re‑examines that night, piecing together the fractured memories of a community that refuses to look away. As family breakdowns, class tensions, and gender expectations collide, the protagonist’s own identity unravels, forcing her to confront the uncomfortable truth that blame is never singular. Steinberg’s daring, experimental prose—shifting from dense, semicolon‑laden passages to breathless, clipped lines—creates a propulsive, jagged rhythm that mirrors the characters’ spiraling desperation. *Machine* is a haunting, incisive portrait of youth, privilege, and the lingering weight of trauma, offering a bold, unforgettable reading experience.