Dearest Merv: A (short) novel in (fan) letters - Softcover

Fromberg, Robert

Softcover

ISBN 13: 9798994361702

Publisher: Small Books, 2026

Synopsis

“In Dearest Merv, the humanity and humbleness of Fannie and her world brilliantly capture the bygone era of 1960s NYC ethnic working classes. Touching and familiar, the story left me with hope for a more compassionate world—one that envelops the reader into a kinder state of mind and being.” —Andrea Thalasinos, author of The Loneliness of Horses

In the mid-1960s, two elderly Brooklyn women begin writing regular notes to a beloved talk-show host. Affectionate and eccentric, probing and prickly, these fictional notes show how one modest household fathoms its place in the era’s cultural pandemonium.

Praise for Robert Fromberg, winner of the Edna Ferber Fiction Book Award

“Fromberg’s wit weaves events with gentle rebuke and quiet dignity, but nevertheless delivers a sharp and incisive look with such crooked charm one cannot help but be seduced.” –Cat Conway, author of Bloofer

“It is quite mischievous on Fromberg’s part to keep bursting into our failings and our flaws, bringing love…into an imperfect world.” —Boris Miljković, author of Duboka Nostalgija (Deep Nostalgia)

“Fromberg has a remarkable ability to inject meaning into silence, into the cracks between sections, into all the things that remain unsaid.” —Brett Biebel, author of 48 Blitz

“I truly envy the way Robert Fromberg writes. His sentences are masterfully balanced. His narratives are constantly surprising.” —Camden Joy, author of Boy Island

“If you’ve ever been in a situation where everyone else seemed to know something that you didn't and wondered whether you would ever figure out this central truth, Fromberg’s work is for you.” –Valerie Block, author of Was It Something I Said?

Edition details

• Publisher: Small Books
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 13: 9798994361702
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 164