A Long Island Story - Softcover

Gekoski, Rick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1786893436 ISBN 13: 9781786893437

Publisher: Canongate Books, 2019

Synopsis

It is 1953, a heat wave is sweeping across America and the Grossmans – Ben, Addie and their two children – are moving their lives from the political heart of Washington DC to suburban Long Island. With their future uncertain, life on the island starts to cause problems for Ben and Addie. Both begin to wonder if they were meant for more, whether their lives might look different than they planned, and whether their marriage – their family – is worth fighting for. A Long Island Story is a portrait of a couple in crisis, of a unique and fascinating period in US history and of a seemingly perfect family fighting their demons behind closed doors.

About this title

About the Author:

Rick Gekoski is a writer, rare-book dealer and academic. He has written several widely praised non-fiction books including Staying Up, Tolkien's Gown, Outside of a Dog and Lost, Stolen or Shredded. His debut novel Darke was published in 2017 when Gekoski was 72 years old and was shortlisted for the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award.

Review:

‘An acute portrait of the uneasiness and claustrophobia of family life . . . Engrossingly readable’ The Times

‘What Gekoski brings . . . is subtlety and restraint, crafting an affectionate portrait of Jewish family life across generations. A quiet story, it's economically told and freighted with resonant themes’ Mail on Sunday

‘An engrossing read . . . An authentic portrayal of a particularly captivating time and place’ Financial Times

‘An affectionate portrait of the author’s family, drawing on Gekoski’s childhood in America . . . What the novel captures are the passing moments, the days we live in’ Spectator

‘In A Long Island Story Gekoski turns a forensic eye on the subtlest nuances of family life and, in the process, introduces us to the fears, desires, and compromises of a generation. This is a deeply honest portrait of life, the big and the small of it, the sorrows and the joys’ REBECCA F. JOHN, Costa-shortlisted author of The Haunting of Henry Twist

About this edition

• Publisher: Canongate Books
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1786893436
• ISBN 13: 9781786893437
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320