Farrar, Straus and Giroux
I loved Paul Murray’s ‘Skippy Dies,’ and this novel set in small-town Ireland was just as satisfying. Find the most dysfunctional family you can—a woman who married her husband less out of love than the grief they shared following the death of his brother; the husband, the once-brilliant son of a domineering father who pushes him into the family business, which results in a scandal, the scope of which is slowly coming to light; a daughter whose own brilliance allows her to leave home but faces her own unrequited love; and a son who struggles to make friends and may or may not be getting involved in an online relationship with a pedophile. Throw in a car crash, an abusive father, extramarital affairs, and a doomsdayer and you end up with a resolution where every character is led to this final triumphant moment. Except there will be no triumph.
Refocus for Reinvention