Summary
A dazzlingly original new novel from the acclaimed author of The Borrower.
The acclaimed author of The Borrower returns with a dazzlingly original, mordantly witty novel about the secrets of an old-money family and their turn-of-the-century estate, Laurelfield.
Meet the Devohrs: Zee, a Marxist literary scholar who detests her parents’ wealth but nevertheless finds herself living in their carriage house; Gracie, her mother, who claims she can tell your lot in …
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780099591795 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0099591790 |
| Author: | Rebecca Makkai |
| Publisher: | Cornerstone |
| Imprint: | Windmill Books |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 352 |
| Release Date: | 1 October 2015 |
| Weight: | 245g |
| Dimensions: | 22mm x 129mm x 198mm |
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Critics Review
Makkai’s second novel defies genre - part literary mystery, part comedy of manners, part wickedly funny satire. Whichever way you look at it, it’s remarkable.
Makkai’s second novel defies genre – part literary mystery, part comedy of manners, part wickedly funny satire. Whichever way you look at it, it’s remarkable. * Daily Mail *
Rebecca Makkai is a writer to watch, as sneakily ambitious as she is unpretentious. – Richard Russo
Makkai humorously turns the conventional family saga on its head, in a clever exploration of metamorphosis and secrecy. * Huffington Post *
Makkai has written a novel that reads almost like early Muriel Spark – clever, competent, and concealing an unsettling and skewed reality ... The hand that keeps giving the kaleidoscope another turn, controlling just how the pieces land, isn’t fate, of course. It’s the artist, Makkai is one. * Chicago Tribune *
A big-hearted gothic novel, an intergenerational mystery, a story of heartbreak and a romance, all crammed into one grand Midwestern estate … A juicy and moving story of art and love and the luck it takes for either to last. * Los Angeles Times *
An entertaining, ambitious saga … Makkai’s lyrical prose quietly lifts off the page while her carefully crafted plot charges forward. * The Boston Globe *
This novel is stunning: ambitious, readable, and intriguing. Its gothic elements, complexity, and plot twists are reminiscent of Margaret Atwood’s The Blind Assassin. Chilling and thoroughly enjoyable … A daring takeoff from her entertaining debut. * Library Journal (starred review) *
Makkai’s second novel is a lively and clever story starring an estate with an intricate history … The book is exceptionally well constructed, with engaging characters busy reinventing themselves throughout, and delightful twists that surprise and satisfy * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *
Charmingly clever and mischievously funny, Makkai follows her enthusiastically praised first novel, The Borrower (2011), with an intriguingly structured tale — each section takes a step back in time — set on a fabled, possibly haunted estate north of Chicago … Her offbeat characters and suspenseful story could have added up to a stylish romp. Instead, Makkai offers that and much more as she stealthily investigates the complexities of ambition, sexism, violence, creativity, and love in this diverting yet richly dimensional novel. * Booklist (starred review) *
Makkai fulfills the promise of her debut with this witty and darkly acerbic novel set in the rich soils of an artists’ colony. The inverted timeline of the multi-generational narrative deepens the layered mysteries at its heart. As decades unfold in reverse, we find that nothing about Laurelfield’s various inhabitants is at it first appears, and neither talent nor history sits on solid ground. – Ru Freeman, author of On Sal Mal Lane and A Disobedient Girl
Rebecca Makkai
Rebecca Makkai’s first novel, The Borrower, was a Booklist Top Ten Debut, an Indie Next pick, and an O Magazine selection. Her short fiction has appeared in Harper’s, Tin House, Ploughshares, and New England Review, and has been selected four times for The Best American Short Stories. The recipient of a 2014 NEA Fellowship, she lives in Chicago and Vermont.
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