Synopses & Reviews
As she did in the bestselling novel
A Friend of the Family, author Lauren Grodstein has written a taut, provocative morality tale centered on one of the most polarizing issues of our time.
There is nothing inherently threatening about Melissa, a young evangelist hoping to write the definitive paper on intelligent design. But when she implores Andy Waite, a biology professor and a hardcore evolutionist, to direct her independent study, she becomes the catalyst for the collapsing house of cards surrounding him. As he works with Melissa, Andy finds that everything about his world is starting to add up differently. Suddenly there is the possibility of faith. But with it come responsibility and guilt — the very things that Andy has sidestepped for years.
Professor Waite is nearing the moment when his life might settle down a bit: tenure is in sight, his daughters are starting to grow up, and he's slowly but surely healing from the sudden loss of his wife. His life is starting to make sense again — until the scientific stance that has defined his life and his work is challenged by this charismatic student.
In a bravura performance, Lauren Grodstein dissects the permeable line between faith and doubt to create a fiercely intelligent story about the lies we tell ourselves, the deceptions we sustain with others, and how violated boundaries — between students and teachers, believers and nonbelievers — can have devastating consequences.
Review
"Her narrative sparkles with irony and wry observation....Grodstein's portrait of Andy is spot-on, as is that of the evangelical student, Sheila, Rosenblum and the minor characters. A rumination on love and loss, faith in reason and faith in the divine." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Grodstein handles everything with a subtle wit, managing to skewer both the ultraconservative and the ultraliberal without making either seem absolutely wrong. Both the tone and the plot of the grieving professor finding answers in science are reminiscent of Carolyn Parkhurst's Dogs of Babel." Booklist
Review
"A well-crafted story of wayward souls searching for forgiveness, healing and personal truth." Family Circle
Synopsis
As she did in the bestselling novel A Friend of the Family, Lauren Grodstein has written another provocative morality tale, this time dissecting the permeable line between faith and doubt.
College professor Andy Waite is picking up the pieces of a shattered life. Between his research in evolutionary biology and caring for his young daughters, his days are reassurringly safe, if a bit lonely. But when Melissa Potter charismatic, unpredictable, and devout asks him to advise her study of intelligent design, he agrees. Suddenly, the world that Andy has fought to rebuild is rocked to its foundations.
A well-crafted story of wayward souls searching for forgiveness, healing and personal truth. Family Circle
Grodstein handles everything with a subtle wit, managing to skewer both the ultraconservative and the ultraliberal without making either seem absolutely wrong . . . Reminiscent of Carolyn Parkhurst s Dogs of Babel. Booklist
Finding or losing God proves to be an equally destabilizing tectonic shift, and this novel is full of them . . . Their cumulative force will leave you happily unsteady, and moved. The Washington Post
A master storyteller . . . Tackles the tough topics: healing after loss, the relevance and possibility of the divine in our lives, the gilded shackles of academic life, and life in Southern New Jersey all while always being terrifically entertaining. *Ben Schrank, author of Love Is a Canoe
Engrossing . . . You ll likely close the book with a new perspective on faith, justice, mercy, and the difficulty of holding a moral high ground. Bust
A novel of ideas and a deeply felt story of love, loss, hope, and the healing powers of forgiveness . . . A provocative, moving story, and a beautifully written one. Dani Shapiro, author of Devotion
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Synopsis
Lauren Grodstein's New York Times bestselling novel A Friend of the Family was hailed as "such an incisive diagnosis of aspirational America that someone should hand out copies at Little League games and ballet recitals" (The Washington Post). Now, Grodstein has created another insightful and gripping morality tale about love, loss, and faith.
Synopsis
At Exton Reed college, biologist Andy Waite is nearing the moment when his life might settle down a bit: tenure is in sight, his daughters are starting to grow up, and he's slowly but surely healing from the loss of his wife. His life is starting to make sense again. That is, until the entrance of a young student who wants him to direct her independent study. There is nothing inherently threatening about Melissa, a young evangelist hoping to write the definitive paper on intelligent design. And yet she is the catalyst for the collapsing house of cards surrounding Andy as he gradually loses sight of his personal and professional boundaries as well as his moral grounding. As he works with Melissa, Andy, the hardcore evolutionist, finds that everything about his world is starting to add up differently. Suddenly, there is the possibility of faith, but with it also come responsibility and guilt — the very things that Andy has sidestepped for years.
In a command performance, Lauren Grodstein creates a fiercely intelligent story about the difficulty of holding to a moral position. The Explanation for Everything explores the search for meaning that all humans crave, the risks and rewards of faith, and the salvation that love can offer.
Synopsis
For college biology professor Andy Waite, Darwinian evolution is the explanation for everything. But the unpredictable force of a charismatic evangelical student--a young woman determined to prove the existence of intelligent design--threatens to undermine more than just his faith in science. As she did in the bestselling novel A Friend of the Family, author Lauren Grodstein has written a taut, provocative morality tale centered on one of the most polarizing issues of our time. By dissecting the permeable line between faith and doubt, Grodstein creates a fiercely intelligent story about the lies we tell ourselves, the deceptions we sustain with others, and how violated boundaries--between students and teachers, believers and nonbelievers--can have devastating consequences.
About the Author
Lauren Grodstein is the author of the bestselling A Friend of the Family, which was a Washington Post Best Book of the Year, a New York Times Editor’s Pick, and an Indie Next selection; the collection The Best of Animals; and the novel Reproduction Is the Flaw of Love. She teaches creative writing at Rutgers University.