Book Club: I MADE IT OUT OF CLAY by Beth Kander
Our February 2025 Bottom Reader Book Club Selection
Beth Kander may have one of the best book origin stories I’ve heard. In 2022, Beth won Hey Alma’s annual Hanukkah movie pitch contest with her pitch about “a 40-year-old, perpetually single Eve. Desiring not to spend Hanukkah and her cousin’s wedding alone, she does something drastic. Eve builds herself a golem. What starts out as a light rom-com fantasy quickly mudslides into something much darker when golem Paul Mudd gets way too overprotective.” Beth’s playful Instagram pitch soon went viral, and her agent asked her how quickly that idea could become a manuscript. Beth finished the first draft in a month (!!) and the rest is history. Also fun: the book cover took its inspiration from the original contest movie poster design.
Beth’s eleven years in Mississippi were instrumental to her growth as a creative. In her Rooted interview, she writes: “Mississippi doesn’t just fit into my definition of home—my time there truly helped me come up with my definition of home.” Lucky for us, Beth is coming back to Mississippi for the southern leg of her book tour.
If you want to meet the author and get your book signed, there are a couple upcoming opportunities to do so. Beth will be a featured speaker at the Homegrown Literary Festival in Long Beach, MS, on February 1 (along with Rooted Editor Shira Muroff who will be in conversation with author Lee Durkee—see the full schedule), or you can come to Jackson’s Lemuria Books on Monday February 3 at 5 p.m. to see Beth in conversation with Catherine Gray (whose forthcoming memoir Proud Flesh will be our March Bottom Reader Book Club pick!).
Regardless of where you are, I do hope you’ll read I Made It Out of Clay with us. Beth Kander will be joining us for the live discussion of the book on Wednesday, February 26 at 7 p.m. CT. Rooted Community Editor Shira Muroff and I will be moderating the discussion. Register now to join.
And now here’s the official book description for I Made It Out of Clay:
Nothing’s going well for Eve: she’s single, turning forty, stressed at work and anxious about a recent series of increasingly creepy incidents. Most devastatingly, her beloved father died last year, and her family still won’t acknowledge their sorrow.
With her younger sister’s wedding rapidly approaching, Eve is on the verge of panic. She can’t bear to attend the event alone. That’s when she recalls a strange story her Yiddish grandmother once told her, about a protector forged of desperation…and Eve, to her own shock, manages to create a golem.
At first, everything seems great. The golem is indeed protective—and also attractive. But when they head out to a rural summer camp for the family wedding, Eve’s lighthearted rom-com fantasy swiftly mudslides into something much darker.
With moments of moodiness, fierce love and unexpected laughter, I Made It Out of Clay will make you see monsters everywhere.
Beth Kander is a writer with tangled roots in the Midwest and Deep South. Described as a “genre-defying author and playwright” (Oxford American), her work has been called “riveting” and “habit-forming.” Beth earned an MSW from the University of Michigan and an MFA in Creative Writing from Mississippi University for Women, where she now serves as visiting faculty. Expect twists, turns, and secrets, with surprising heart and humor. Beth has too many degrees and drinks too much coffee. Her favorite characters are her dashing husband and their two lovely kids. For more: www.bethkander.com.
Thanks again to our book club partners: Mississippi Book Festival, Lemuria Books, and Friendly City Books. Our sponsor
records and produces these discussions at their studio in The Hangar.Check out our upcoming book club picks!
March: Proud Flesh: A Memoir of Motherhood, Intimate Violence, and Reclaiming Pleasure with author and Rooted contributor Catherine Simone Gray
April: Come By Here with author Neesha Powell-Ingabire
May: No One Gets to Fall Apart with author Sarah Labrie and moderator John Caleb Grenn
Thank you to everyone who joined our in-person book club event at the Mississippi Museum of Art in conjunction with their Of Salt and Spirit: Black Quilters in the American South exhibition. An extra special thanks to Victoria Richard and the MMA crew for making this happen. Talking about Alice Walker’s In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens while surrounded by exquisite quilts was an unforgettable experience.
