Synopses & Reviews
A New York Times 2016 Notable Book
Entertainment Weekly's#1 Book of the Year
A Washington Post 2016 Notable Book
A Slate Top Ten Book
It s 2011, and Samuel Andresen-Anderson hasn't seen his mother Faye in decades not since she abandoned the family when he was a boy. Now she s re-appeared, having committed an absurd crime that electrifies the nightly news and inflames a politically divided country. The media paints Faye as a radical hippie with a sordid past, but as far as Samuel knows, his mother was an ordinary girl who married her high-school sweetheart. Which version of his mother is true? Two facts are certain: she s facing some serious charges, and she needs Samuel s help.
To save her, Samuel will have to embark on his own journey, uncovering long-buried secrets about the woman he thought he knew, secrets that stretch across generations and have their origin all the way back in Norway, home of the mysterious Nix. As he does so, Samuel will confront not only Faye s losses but also his own lost love, and will relearn everything he thought he knew about his mother, and himself."
Review
“It broke my heart, this book. Time after time. It made me laugh just as often. I loved it on the first page as powerfully as I did on the last.” Jason Sheehan, NPR.org
Review
“A fantastic novel about love, betrayal, politics and pop culture—as good as the best Michael Chabon or Jonathan Franzen.” People
About the Author
Nathan Hill's short fiction has appeared in many literary journals, including The Iowa Review, AGNI, The Gettysburg Review, and Fiction, which awarded him its annual Fiction Prize. A native Iowan, he lives with his wife in Naples, Florida.