A Field Guide to the North American Family

(Paperback)

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The debut from the bestselling author of City on Fire, now published in the UK for the first time - a dazzlingly original illustrated novella about the lives of two seemingly ordinary families From the author of the New York Times bestseller City on Fire A Granta Best of Young American Novelist 2017 'A young author of boundless and unflagging talents' New York Times We can all agree on this much, Marnie thought- nobody saw the Hungate divorce coming. In the privacy of her own mind, she saw them as the last of a dying breed, the Great American Family. Two families - the Hungates and the Harrisons - live side by side in Long Island, New York. They lead charmed lives- good jobs in the city, weekends by the pool, cheerleading practice after school and backyard barbecues in the summer. But within these lives lie hundreds of little deceptions. Told through a mix of photographs and words, this is a dazzlingly inventive depiction of two families falling apart and coming together and the thousand different truths of the American Dream.

Reviews

This is a bit of a hidden gem, which reminded me of Leanne Shaptons. -- Sarra Manning * Red Online *
Evocative of masters of American suburbia such as Updike, Cheever, Salter and Richard Yates Conjuring a dreamily filmic spell, with shades of American Beauty and The Ice Storm, this is a work that can be approached (and rediscovered) a number of ways, all equally rewarding. Its an ideal coffee table or bedside companion, to be dipped into for flashes of pleasure. -- Alasdair Lees * Independent *
A work of genuine brilliance, with Hallbergs relentless gifts gleaming off every page. -- Alasdair Lees * Belfast Morning Telegraph *

Author Bio

Garth Risk Hallberg's first novel, City on Fire, was an international bestseller and was named one of the best books of the year by the Daily Telegraph, the Guardian, the Washington Post, the Independent, and Vogue, among others. His illustrated novella, A Field Guide to the North American Family was nominated for a Believer Book Award and his short fiction and essays have been published in the Guardian, and the New York Times Book Review. He is a Granta Best Young American Novelist. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and children and is at work on a new novel.