Bone Horn: A Novel

Synopsis

When a newly licensed private investigator receives a bizarre assignment to locate the legendary horn that Pablo Picasso supposedly claimed grew from Alice B. Toklas's head, she can hardly afford to refuse. Grieving the sudden loss of her partner, struggling to support her child, and newly escaped from the precarity of academia, she follows the absurd trail from London to Paris to San Francisco. What begins as an outlandish literary mystery soon becomes a dangerous investigation into forgotten histories, hidden desires, and the stories we choose to preserve.

By turns witty, moving, and delightfully eccentric, Bone Horn reinvents the detective novel through the worlds of modernism, queer history, and literary scholarship. Blending mystery, satire, and emotional depth, it is an inventive exploration of grief, identity, and the power of reclaiming overlooked lives.

About the Author

Catherine Lacey is an acclaimed novelist and essayist known for her formally inventive fiction and sharp literary wit. Bone Horn combines detective fiction, queer history, and cultural criticism in a playful, deeply original novel that reimagines the lives and legacy of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas.

Publisher
Soft Skull Press

Publication Date
September 9, 2025

Format
Paperback

Pages
272

Subjects
Literary Fiction · Mystery · LGBTQ+ Fiction · Contemporary Fiction

ISBN
9781593768218