A mesmerizing first novel about a man, a woman, and a disappearance.

"I'm from Chicago originally. I went to New York, married a girl named Anne, and was in the middle of living happily ever after when something happened."

So begins John Haskell's mesmerizing first novel, American Purgatorio, the story of a happily married man who discovers, as he walks out of a convenience store, that his life has suddenly vanished. In cool, precise prose, written as both a detective story and a meditation on the seven deadly sins, Haskell tells a story that is by turns tragic and comic, compassionate and gripping. From the brownstones of New York City to the sandy beaches of Southern California, American Purgatorio follows the journey of a man whose object of desire is both heartbreaking and ephemeral. It confirms John Haskell's reputation as one of our most intriguing new writers, "one of those rare authors who makes language seem limitless in its possibilities" (Susan Reynolds, Los Angeles Times).

"A man scrutinizes what it means to live and love during a cross-country search for his missing wife in a prickly, penetrating novel by the author of I Am Not Jackson Pollock. After stopping for gas on his way to his mother-in-law's house, the narrator, Jack, emerges from a convenience store to find that his car and his wife, Anne, are nowhere to be found. After making his way back home, Jack discovers a U.S. map marked with an apparent route; imagining that this will lead him to his wife, he buys another car and sets off. Haskell twists the essential mystery — what happened to Anne? — into a meticulous, probing investigation of one man's desires, fears and coping mechanisms, a tactic that somewhat slows the narrative but results in existential chewiness. As Jack makes his way to Kentucky, Colorado, California, he encounters odd but sympathetic strangers, many of whom are likewise journeying, most of whom aid him and some of whom seem like reflections of himself. The cool, intentionally deadened prose can make for difficult reading; that Haskell turns the notion of the unreliable narrator on its head not once but twice will redeem everything for some readers and make others feel tricked. Chapters named for the seven deadly sins (in Latin) signal Jack's path through pride and sloth, through a world that feels both banally familiar and utterly alien — an American purgatory — in this strange and compelling novel. Agent, Derek Johns at A.P. Watt (London). (Jan.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"[T]he complex and sometimes comical plot keep the reader glued to every page until the astonishing ending. Highly recommended." Library Journal

"Overwrought, obvious, self-conscious: likely to be a big disappointment for fans of Haskell's often-brilliant stories." Kirkus Reviews

"Turn the last page, and you'll realize that this strange, moving book has done just what a first novel should: it has left an impression." New York Times

"American Purgatorio is a serious, admirable novel, well worth reading." Washington Post

John Haskell is the author of a short-story collection, I Am Not Jackson Pollock (FSG, 2003). His work has appeared in Granta, The Paris Review, Conjunctions and Ploughshares. He is a contributor to the radio show The Next Big Thing. He lives in Brooklyn.