Synopses & Reviews
When Chrysalis Moffat and her brother Eddie inherit a mansion on the coast of California, Eddie hatches a plan to fleece credulous Californians of their cash by starting the fraudulent Tibetan School of Miracles. With Ralph as the would-be guru and miracle worker, the "school" quickly becomes more successful than anybody first imagined.
But something else is happening. As Chrysalis begins to discover her adoptive fathers secret past, her own identity begins to unravel. Was it actually in Peru that she was born? What has the CIA got to do with it? Who is Denise Cadwallader? At the same time, Chrysalis is being drawn into Ralphs strange and compelling world: a realm of mind-blowing coincidence, obsessive gambling, and mysterious siblings.
It is rare that novels come as intelligent and as funny as this one. Newman reveals a subtle understanding of human nature and our philosophical dilemmas, while at the same time charting a hilarious roller-coaster ride through the flotsam of American pop culture: from Californian Buddhist retreats to the temples of gambling, from secret agents to UFOs, and then around the corner to the parking lot of the nearest 7-Eleven.
At its core, The Only Good Thing Anyone Has Ever Done is a novel about self-discovery. As Chrysalis lays down the facts of her life, she gambles her identity against the contradictions, half-truths, and fables of her past, leading her ultimately to question what it is we can truly know, and whether it is fate or chance that dictates our lives.
Review
"As in any great novel, the characters here grow richer, and more mysterious, as more is revealed about them. This is a witty, imaginative debut from a young novelist with dazzling intellectual resources." Adrienne Miller, Esquire (read the entire Esquire review)
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"Original and powerful." The Times Literary Supplement
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"A show-stealing, risk-taking first novel....Newman has a liltingly poetic
rhythm, an uncanny ear for dialogue and nicely bathetic sense of comic
timing. The deadpan tone is rueful and witty by turns, and utterly
absorbing." Guardian Review of Books
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"Breathtaking writing...the dialogue is pitch-perfect, with laugh out loud
lines....an exhilarating read." The Independent on Sunday
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"[This] is a smart, big-hearted, hysterical and gorgeously rendered novel." Jerry Stahl
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"Sandra Newman has an amazingly original way of thinking. The Only Good Thing Anyone Has Ever Done is often hysterically funny, profoundly strange, and unbearably beautiful. Often all at once." Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Everything is Illuminated
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One of Jill's Top Five picks for 2004. To read more staff Top Five lists click here.
Synopsis
When Chrysalis Moffat and her brother Eddie inherit a mansion on the coast of California, Eddie hatches a plan to fleece credulous Californians of their cash by starting the fraudulent Tibetan School of Miracles. With Ralph as the would-be guru and miracle worker, the "school" quickly becomes more successful than anybody first imagined. At the same time, Chrysalis, adopted from South America, begins to discover her father's secret past and its connection to Ralph's strange and compelling world of mind-blowing coincidence, obsessive gambling, and mysterious siblings.
At its core, this is a novel about self discovery. As Chrysalis lays down the facts of her life she gambles with her identity against the contractions, half-truths, and fables about her past, leading her to ultimately question what it is we can truly know, and whether it is fate or chance that dictates our lives.
About the Author
Born in America, Sandra Newman has lived in Germany, Russia, Malaysia, and England. Her professions have included copyediting, gambling, and typing. A student of the late W. G. Sebald, she now devotes herself to writing full-time. Sandra Newman lives in London and California.