Cleaner

Description

“Forget the rock and roll, this debut is about sex, drugs and a serious obsession with cleaning.” —ELLE

“[A] gem of a debut novel…funny, vibrant, and utterly unpredictable.” —Service95

A disaffected young woman’s work as a cleaner takes her on an increasingly surreal search for a creative fulfillment, gainful employment, and the meaning of life in this sharp, tragicomic debut–perfect for fans of Melissa Broder, Jen Beagin, and Alexandra Tanner.

A young artist returns to her childhood home, with a host of degrees and diplomas in her back pocket. But when forced to confront the reality that the world sees no use for her scholarly exploits, she must find a job–and quickly.

Overqualified, underemployed, and idle, she starts a job as a cleaner for a gallery, where she meets another aspiring artist–Isabella–and they begin a passionate affair. Isabella could not be more different from the cleaner: she’s elegant, successful…and living with her filthy rich boyfriend Paul.

Isabella sneaks the cleaner into her life by hiring her to scrub the apartment she shares with Paul. Little by little, the cleaner relaxes into the comfort of her new surroundings. But when Isabella leaves the apartment one day and doesn’t come back, the cleaner is left to decide whether to back to her old life–or stay and step into Isabella’s.
Binding Type: Hardcover
Author: Jess Shannon
Published: 02/17/2026
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
ISBN: 9781668223086
Pages: 224
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 0.84″ H x 8.56″ L x 5.55″ W

About the Author
Jess Shannon is a writer from Birmingham UK and a proud graduate of the Warwick Writing Programme. She completed her MA in writing in 2021. She spends most of her free time at the theatre and hates cleaning.