Synopses & Reviews
The eagerly anticipated debut novel from the author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist
You Are Not a Stranger Here: a deeply affecting portrait of the modern gilded age, the first decade of the twenty-first century.
At the heart of Union Atlantic lies a test of wills between a young banker, Doug Fanning, and a retired schoolteacher, Charlotte Graves, whose two dogs have begun to speak to her. When Doug builds an ostentatious mansion on land that Charlotte's grandfather donated to the town of Finden, Massachusetts, she determines to oust him in court. As a senior manager of Union Atlantic bank, a major financial conglomerate, Doug is embroiled in the company's struggle to remain afloat. It is Charlotte's brother, Henry Graves, the president of the New York Federal Reserve, who must keep a watchful eye on Union Atlantic and the entire financial system. Drawn into Doug and Charlotte's intensifying conflict is Nate Fuller, a troubled high-school senior who unwittingly stirs powerful emotions in each of them.
Irresistibly complex, imaginative, and witty, Union Atlantic is a singular work of fiction that is sure to be read and reread long after it causes a sensation this spring.
Review
"The first great novel of the new century. It's big and ambitious, like novels used to be. It's about us, now. All of us." Esquire
Review
"In Union Atlantic, swiftly and confidently, Haslett unwinds the ball of yarn that is the global financial crisis to reveal its core: a knot of ineluctable yearnings and individual needs." Liesl Schillinger, The New York Times Book Review
Review
"In Haslett's hands, the potentially dry descriptions of a complicated series of fiscal gambits and regulatory policy spring to dramatic life....While Union Atlantic indicts the machinations and collusions that allow rogue bankers to lose billions with impunity, the book's politics are rewardingly complex." Minneapolis Star Tribune
Review
"Reminiscent of Tom Wolfe's Bonfire of the Vanities, Haslett's novel is a fast, compelling read, and a cautionary tale of our time....Haslett proves himself capable of writing a page-turner of the banking world and a timely read." Dallas Morning News
Review
"Union Atlantic is more than a financial page-turner. It is an ambitious literary work, filled with compelling characters, evocative prose and finely drawn social portraiture....Decades from now, this fine novel will help readers understand the period we've just been through." The Wall Street Journal
Review
"[A] strange, elegant story....It's a profound, strikingly intelligent story about the cost of living in a world in which real values have been supplanted by a fiat currency of self-interest and empty promises." Ron Charles, The Washington Post
Review
"Adam Haslett has the rarest of talents: the ability to combine a powerful intelligence with storytelling that is both elegant and suspenseful, and to break your heart in the process. Union Atlantic is a masterful portrait of our age." Malcolm Gladwell
Synopsis
The eagerly anticipated debut novel from the author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist You Are Not a Stranger Here, Union Atlantic is a deeply affecting portrait of the modern gilded age, the first decade of the 21st century.
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About the Author
Adam Haslett's short-story collection You Are Not a Stranger Here was a New York Times bestseller and a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. It has been translated into fifteen languages. He lives in New York.