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 LaurelfieldRebecca Makkai is a writer to watch as sneakily ambitious as she is unpretentiousxRichard RussoMeet 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 life by looking at your teeth and Bruce her step-father stockpiling supplies for the YK apocalypse and perpetually late for his tee time Then theres Violet Devohr Zees great-grandmother who they say took her own life somewhere in the vast house and whose massive oil portrait still hangs in the dining roomViolets portrait was known to terrify the artists who resided at the house from the s to the s when it served as the Laurelfield Arts Colonyand this is exactly the period Zees husband Doug is interested in An out-of-work academic whose only hope of a future position is securing a book deal Doug is stalled on his biography of the poet Edwin Parfitt once in residence at the colony All he needs to get the book back on trackbesides some motivation and self-esteemis access to the colony records rotting away in the attic for decades But when Doug begins to poke around where he shouldnt he finds Gracie guards the files with a strange ferocity raising questions about what she might be hiding The secrets of the hundred-year house would turn everything Doug and Zee think they know about her family on its headthat is if they were to ever uncover themIn this brilliantly conceived ambitious and deeply rewarding novel Rebecca Makkai unfolds a generational saga in reverse leading the reader back in time on a literary scavenger hunt as we seek to uncover the truth about these strange people and this mysterious house With intelligence and humor a daring narrative approach and a lovingly satirical voice Rebecca Makkai has crafted an unforgettable novel about family fate and the incredible surprises life can offerFor readers of Dodie SmithsI Capture the Castle.
