“Slim and potent....Known for her direct style and evocative storytelling, she’s exceptional as a sharp satirist. This arch, edgy comedy is no exception....Dermansky finds the bruises made by unchecked capitalism and applies firm pressure to make you wince....Dermansky is at the top of her game: an iconoclastic writer.”
—Lauren LeBlanc, The Boston Globe
"How can a simple mechanism like a hot air balloon bring so much joy and wonder? How can Dermansky pack so much incisive humor into 200 pages? Some things prove ineffable, like this multi-perspective story of a woman, her daughter, her personal assistant, her so-so suitor, her long-ago camp crush and his wife — all of whom spend a weekend together. Not only does it get off the ground, it soars, alternately fueled by cluelessness and bombast.
—Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times
“Unapologetically and pleasurably absurd....This novel is a romp, full of the witty, razor sharp prose characteristic of all Dermansky’s books. I cannot recommend this novel enough.”
—Roxane Gay, New York Times best-selling author of Bad Feminist
"Run, don't walk, to get your mitts on this hilarious book."
—People Magazine
"Wonderfully disorienting....Surprising....[Dermansky] maps the small moments in which characters have close encounters with their deepest selves as they interrogate and then express (or fail to express) their desires."
—Chicago Tribune
"What is more fun than a new novel from this wildly imaginative and reliably hilarious author? ....You’ve never seen... 'there are things money can’t buy' done quite like this."
—Marion Winik, Oprah Daily
"Hot Air is the definition of a fun time. The plot is kooky...and...charming. The story explores topics that dominate all of our lives, including money, marriage, and power but with an easily digestible humor that makes it all go down easy."
—Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living
"A hilarious and highly clever new novel."
—Bustle
“I can always rely on Marcy Dermansky to write a book packed with ridiculous, reality TV-level drama....If you love stories of money, marriage, sex, and jealousy, pick this one up."
—Margo Ghertner, The Skimm
"Marcy Dermansky has a rare talent for writing stories that are as emotionally charged as they are wryly funny. With Hot Air, she offers up another witty saga on relationships, power, and money."
—Harpers Bazaar
"[A] happily madcap, devour-me-in-a-single-sitting story.... If this one’s anything like Dermansky’s previous books, we can expect uproarious laughs amidst the smart social observations."
—Lit Hub, "Most Anticipated Books of 2025"
"A ridiculous and funny comedy of errors, Marcy Dermansky’s Hot Air has Joannie, a woman who hasn’t been on a date in seven years, convincing herself that the mediocre Johnny is a suitable partner. But when her old summer camp crush — now a billionaire — crashes into Johnny’s pool, this new option — or even his wife, or his assistant — seems a lot more intriguing.
—Our Culture
"[A] hilarious novel about second chances and quirks of fate.... The fun of this lightning-fast read is what Dermansky does with [the] setup....Marvelous."
—Michael Magras, Shelf Awareness
"Dating is weird most of the time....We can all agree on that. Know what makes dating even weirder? When a billionaire in a hot air balloon enters the picture. That’s the complication at the heart of Marcy Dermansky’s new novel, a comedy of manners that memorably explore[s] contemporary anxieties."
—Vol. 1 Brooklyn
"A sharp, irreverent comedy about money, love, and the messiness of human desires."
—Sean Loughran, Avocado Diaries
"[An] engrossing novel of (mis)manners."
—George Yatchisin, California Review of Books
"A new Dermansky novel is like a holiday declared out of the blue.... Vivian is a genius character, but honestly, they all are, and their inner monologues prove once again that Dermansky knows just how awful people really are inside, and can make it very, very funny. You might find yourself trying to put this book down so it won’t be over too soon. And when it is, you might start it all over again to see how the heck she did it. Has any writer made so much happen in just over 200 pages?"
—Kirkus, Starred Review
"Dermansky’s hilarious latest kicks off with a hot air balloon crash in a backyard pool.... In classic Dermansky style, hijinks ensue....Exuberantly told from alternating perspectives, the narrative explores each character’s secrets, betrayals, and desires. The highlight is Dermansky’s slapstick action and dialogue....It’s a hoot."
—Publishers Weekly
“[A] scorching satire of wacky relationships, iced with a juicy layer of saucy seduction…. Dermansky distills a potent brew from the sad consequences of power disparities among people. No arena of domestic human emotions is safe from her biting wit and analysis. Mother-daughter, employer-worker, husband-wife, rich-poor conflicts: all get their moment in the spotlight. It’s a laugh-till-you cry experience.”
—Library Journal
"Dermansky's slim volume packs a punch. It's full of gimlet-eyed observations about privilege, desire, and satisfaction (or lack thereof)....Daring and wise."
—Booklist
★ 2024-11-23
A single mom and her 8-year-old daughter spend a weekend with the super-rich.
When Joannie’s neighbor Johnny asks her out, and she says she doesn’t have a babysitter, he tells her to bring Lucy to watch movies with his son, Tyson, in the basement. “He promised a nice meal, and Joannie loved free dinners. Nothing, of course, could ever happen between them because of their names. Joannie and Johnny.” Anyone who’s already read Dermansky will recognize these deadpan sentences. And, of course, something is going to happen on the very next page, actually—a billionaire couple celebrating their anniversary with a hot air balloon ride crash-lands in Johnny’s swimming pool, the wife screaming “I will kill you, if we don’t die!” Meet Jonathan and Julia Foster, a famous tech CEO and his philanthropist wife. Soon, Joannie and Julia are drinking fancy wine out of the bottle by the side of the pool and Johnny is inviting everyone for a sleepover. And the surprises just keep coming, many of them created simply by switching points of view, which Dermansky does every few pages, including not just these four but also Joannie’s daughter, Lucy, and the Fosters’ personal assistant, Vivian, an erstwhile Vietnamese orphan and 24-year-old aspiring writer. Vivian is a genius character, but honestly, they all are, and their inner monologues prove once again that Dermansky knows just how awful people really are inside, and can make it very, very funny. You might find yourself trying to put this book down so it won’t be over too soon. And when it is, you might start it all over again to see how the heck she did it. Has any writer made so much happen in just over 200 pages?
A new Dermansky novel is like a holiday declared out of the blue.
