Author | Megan Abbott |
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Language | English |
Genre | Thriller |
Publisher | Little, Brown and Company |
Publication date | July 17, 2018 |
Publication place | United States |
Pages | 352 |
ISBN | 978-1509855681 |
Give Me Your Hand is a 2018 thriller novel by American author Megan Abbott. The book follows Kit Owens and Diane Fleming, two postdoctoral research scientists studying premenstrual dysphoric disorder, as each grapples with the consequences of a secret the other has revealed to them. The story alternates between their experiences and relationship in high school and in the lab as postdocs.
Published by Little, Brown and Company on July 17, 2018, the novel parallels Gothic fiction, with references to Shakespeare's Hamlet and Macbeth, physicist Marie Curie, poet Sylvia Plath, and Lizzie Borden. It was inspired by the story of Marie Robards and the 2009 murder of graduate student Annie Le, as well as the competitiveness of research labs. The novel was generally well-received, receiving starred reviews from Booklist and Publishers Weekly and appearing on various lists of the best books of 2018. It was praised by reviewers for subverting the themes of the hysterical woman and the femme fatale, instead analyzing gender, class, and the complex relationships between women.