Review of the Day: Evil Genius by Claire Oshetsky

Near the end of what I found an odd and entertaining novel, one of the characters sums up the story:

“You’re going to write one of those true-crime stories. It’s about a girl who wants her husband dead. This girl is so young and innocent and sweet that you know she’ll never do a thing about it, but then things work out so well for her that you have to think maybe this girl is actually … what you’d call an evil genius,”

Oshetsky’s novel is about a young woman in 1970s San Francisco who works for At&T:

Back then the phone was so important that we who worked in the Resident Billing Office were like harsh cold gods. If you didn’t pay on time, or if we didn’t like your tone, or if you disrespected us, then we could disconnect your phone as fast as a fingersnap and you’d be dead to the world. We called it ripping your lips. We’d say: “Don’t get testy with me, Mister Customer! If you don’t pay up by Friday, I’m going to rip your lips!” … In those days a job at the phone company was the elephant graveyard of jobs. The phone company was the place you worked until you died.

Celia is bored with her life. “How would I live differently? For sure I didn’t want to live the same life I’d been living. I craved revolutionary changes in my life. Violent changes, even.”

If you think it is possible that violent murder can be funny under the right circumstances then Evil Genius is the book for you. As I said, I found the novel to be odd and entertaining. It definitely helps to have an appreciation for queer or lesbian humor. Oshetsky’s book is definitely not for everyone, but I am glad I read it.

Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley; all opinions are mine.

epub. 230 pgs. 17 February 2026.