Synopses & Reviews
As the twenty-first century enters its second decade, foreign wars, the lingering recession and a caustic political environment are taking their toll on Americans. But the party hasn't ended for Aidan Cole and his friends, a band of savvy -- if cynical -- New York journalists and bloggers who thrive at the intersection of media and celebrity. At wine-sodden dinner parties or in dimly lit downtown bars, their frenetic talk -- of scoops and page views, sexual adventures and trendy restaurants -- continues unabated. Then, without warning, the specter of terrorism reenters their lives. A bomb rips through the deserted floor of a midtown office tower. Middle Eastern terrorists are immediately suspected. But four days later, with no arrests and a city on edge, an anonymous email arrives in Aidan's in-box. Attached is the photograph of an attractive young white woman, along with a chilling message: "This is Paige Roderick. She's the one responsible."
So begins an extraordinary journey into the dark soul of modern America -- from a back-to-the-land community in the Smoky Mountains to a Weather Underground-like bomb factory in Vermont; from Fishers Island, isolated getaway of the wealthy elite, to the hip lofts of Manhattan's Meatpacking District. American Subversive is David Goodwillie's sharp and penetrating take on the paranoia of our times -- and its real, untold dangers. In examining the connection between our collective apathy and the roots of insurrection, Goodwillie has crafted an intoxicating story of two young Americans grasping for a foothold in a culture -- and a country -- that's crumbling around them.
Hailed as a "clever, compelling, page-turner" in the Washington Post, Goodwillie's memoir Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time was a "breakout first book" (Elle) and a "searing sketch of a decade in decline" (Louisville Courier-Journal). Now, with his debut novel, David Goodwillie announces himself as a major new voice in American fiction. Expertly written, relentlessly suspenseful, and bitingly funny, American Subversive is both an unnervingly realistic tale of domestic terrorism and a perfectly observed portrait of Manhattan in the digital age.
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"American Subversive reads like the unholy spawn of Tom Wolfe and F. Scott Fitzgerald. It has all the white-knuckle pleasures of the political thriller--combined with a thoroughly postmodern love story. He has an insider's feel for New York's too-knowing new-media culture, and a writer's eye for its emptiness." -- David Gates, author of Jernigan
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"No one could accuse David Goodwillie of playing it safe in his first novel... The book moves like a potboiler... Sequel, please?"--VanityFair.com
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"David Goodwillie is an exceptional and fine young talent. He can write. In American Subversive you will find him witty and ironic, funny, fast and sharp." -- Alan Furst, author of The Spies of Warsaw
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“The novel is thoughtful and dead-on in its presentation of our post-recession, digitally obsessed, self-centered and seemingly morally bankrupt culture.”—Carol Memmott, USA Today
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"David Goodwille's writing is explosive, engaging and captivating. American Subversive will jolt you out of your seat. After reading this powerful thriller you'll be looking over your shoulder, and down forested lanes, worried what's out there." -- Ridley Pearson, author of Killer Summer
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“Boasting literary antecedents ranging from F. Scott Fitzgerald to Tom Wolfe to Jay McInerney, Goodwillie offers a remarkable tale of one man's search for meaning and purpose beyond the superficialities of contemporary urban life.”—Library Journal
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“[A] hip and quick-paced literary thriller . . . Goodwillie excels at jet-black social satire in a style reminiscentof Bret Easton Ellis. . . In Aidan’s voice, he has written a scathing and hilarious indictment of our bizarre moment in time.”—Malena Watrous, New York Times Book Review
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“Definite beach-reading recommendation… A genuinely thrilling thriller.”—NewYorker.com
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“A triumphant work of fiction.”—Associated Press
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“A rare novel that gets the moment even as we’re living it… A fast-paced, engaging novel of pop-culture and big ideas, authentically subversive, and thoroughly American.”—The Daily Beast
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“[A] smart, edgy, suspenseful first novel… Goodwillie evokes life underground like a master--the tradecraft, the fraught group dynamics, the combination of discipline and paranoia, the longing for normality.”—Kirkus
About the Author
David Goodwillie is the author of the novel American Subversive, a New York Times Notable Book of 2010, and the acclaimed memoir Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time. He has also played professional baseball, worked as a private investigator, and was an expert at Sotheby's auction house. A graduate of Kenyon College, he lives in New York City.