The acclaimed author of The Borrower returns with a dazzlingly
original, mordantly witty novel about the secrets of an old-money
family and their turn-of-the-century estate, Laurelfield. Meet the
Devohrs: Zee, a Marxist literary scholar who detests her parents'
wealth but nevertheless finds herself living in their carriage
house; Gracie, her mother, who claims she can tell your lot in life
by looking at your teeth; and Bruce, her step-father, stockpiling
supplies for the Y2K apocalypse and perpetually late for his tee
time. Then there's Violet Devohr, Zee's great-grandmother, who they
say took her own life somewhere in the vast house, and whose
massive oil portrait still hangs in the dining room. Violet's
portrait was known to terrify the artists who resided at the house
from the 1920s to the 1950s, when it served as the Laurelfield Arts
Colony - and this is exactly the period Zee's husband, Doug, is
interested in. An out-of-work academic whose only hope of a future
position is securing a book deal, Doug is stalled on his biography
of the poet Edwin Parfitt, once in residence at the colony. All he
needs to get the book back on track - besides some motivation and
self-esteem - is access to the colony records, rotting away in the
attic for decades. But when Doug begins to poke around where he
shouldn't, he finds Gracie guards the files with a strange
ferocity, raising questions about what she might be hiding. The
secrets of the hundred-year house would turn everything Doug and
Zee think they know about her family on its head - that is, if they
were to ever uncover them. In this brilliantly conceived,
ambitious, and deeply rewarding novel, Rebecca Makkai unfolds a
generational saga in reverse, leading the reader back in time on a
literary scavenger hunt as we seek to uncover the truth about these
strange people and this mysterious house. With intelligence and
humor, a daring narrative approach, and a lovingly satirical voice,
Rebecca Makkai has crafted an unforgettable novel about family,
fate and the incredible surprises life can offer.
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