"Quietly absorbing . . . the slow pileup of events takes on unxpected, if mild urgency . . . wholly original and convincing."
-- New York Times Book Review
Luther Albright is a builder of dams, a man whose greatest pride (besides his family) is running his hands over the true planes of the house he built himself and knowing that he's constructed something that will shield and shelter them from harm.
A relatively minor incident -- an earthquake that shakes his Sacramento home -- reveals fault lines and cracks in the facade of his family. His teenage son's behavior becomes increasingly bizarre and threatening, his devoted wife more distant, and then a dam of Luther's design comes under investigation for structural flaws exposed by the tremors. In the midst of his heartbreaking family dissolution, Luther must battle against the need to withhold his emotions and push his family even farther away.
Nightmarish meanings begin to shout at Luther from the most innocent of places as debut novelist MacKenzie Bezos tightens her net of psychological suspense around the reader with bravura skill. In the spirit of Rosellen Brown and Alice McDermott, this is a harrowing portrait of an ordinary man who finds himself tested and strives not to be found wanting.
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What was the inspiration for this book?
‘I’ve always had a deep, nerdy preoccupation with the cumulative effect of tiny misunderstandings in intimate relationships. At dinner parties, in books and movies, in overheard conversations, it’s always the sideline drama of small, well-intentioned acts of evasion or omission that draws my attention and quickens my pulse. Just to give you an idea of the scope of my fixation, for me, one of the most memorable scenes in Star Wars is the one where Luke’s uncle and aunt argue over their expectations for him after he leaves the kitchen.
Luther’s story evolved from this preoccupation, albeit unconsciously. I didn’t set out to write a book about emotional secrecy anymore than I enter movie theaters intending to be transfixed and distracted by purely expository background tensions. But when I sat down to start a novel, every time I created a character that was secretive in this way, I found myself more interested, and the writing got better. Then the characters who loved them tried to draw some degree of emotional honesty from them in increasingly aggressive ways. The tension mounted. At first it surprised me, but now it seems natural. After a straightforward plea, is there any other healthy reaction to distance in an intimate relationship? The only alternative is to accept estrangement, which in some way is what Liz ultimately seems to do. Even the smallest bits of evasion or omission in an intimate relationship build a little bit of distance, erode trust. And in the end, people make decisions based on their own perceptions, which are hard to predict and impossible to control. To me, it’s a fascinating problem. There’s so much tragic potential in it.’
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. "A sophisticated novel that breaks and swells the heart. A sure-footed excavation into the nuances of everyday terror--the kind that turns devotion into despair, trust into treachery, love into loss. Its pull is irresistible." -- Toni Morrison, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature and author of Song of Solomon"Quietly absorbing . . . the slow pileup of events takes on unexpected, if mild urgency . . . wholly original and convincing." -- New York Times Book ReviewLuther Albright is a builder of dams, a man whose greatest pride (besides his family) is running his hands over the true planes of the house he built himself and knowing that he's constructed something that will shield and shelter them from harm.A relatively minor incident -- an earthquake that shakes his Sacramento home--reveals fault lines and cracks in the facade of his family. His teenage son's behavior becomes increasingly bizarre and threatening, his devoted wife more distant, and then a dam of Luther's design comes under investigation for structural flaws exposed by the tremors. In the midst of his heartbreaking family dissolution, Luther must battle against the need to withhold his emotions and push his family even farther away.Nightmarish meanings begin to shout at Luther from the most innocent of places as debut novelist MacKenzie Bezos tightens her net of psychological suspense around the reader with bravura skill. In the spirit of Rosellen Brown and Alice McDermott, this is a harrowing portrait of an ordinary man who finds himself tested and strives not to be found wanting. When an earthquake shakes Luther Albright's Sacramento home, it reveals fault lines and cracks not only in the house he personally designed but in the facade of his family as well. "A sophisticated novel that breaks and swells the heart."--Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780060751425
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