An Unfinished Season - by Ward Just (Paperback)

About the Book

Set in Eisenhower-era Chicago, this brilliant work evokes a city, an epoch, and a shift in ideals through the closely observed story of 19-year-old Wilson Ravan.

Book Synopsis

A PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST
WINNER OF THE HEARTLAND PRIZE FOR FICTION
"Stunning."--USA Today
"A master American novelist." --Vanity Fair

Set in Eisenhower-era Chicago, An Unfinished Season brilliantly evokes a city, an epoch, and a shift in ideals through the closely observed story of nineteen-year-old Wilson Ravan. In his summer before college, Wils finds himself straddling three worlds: the working-class newsroom where he's landed a coveted job as a rookie reporter, the whirl of glittering North Shore debutante parties where he spends his nights, and the growing cold war between his parents at home. With unparalleled grace, Ward Just brings Wils's circle to radiant life. Through his finely wrought portraits of a father and son, young lovers, and newsroom dramas, Just also stirringly depicts an American political era.

Review Quotes

"One of Just's best works: stuffed with surprises, sparkling with insights." Kirkus Reviews, Starred

"He steeps his sentences in the rhythms of 1950s jazz....the result is Just's most trenchant read to date..." The Village Voice --

About the Author

Ward Just is the author of fourteen previous novels, including the National book Award finalist Echo House and An Unfinished Season, winner of the Chicago Tribune's Heartland Award. In a career that began as a war correspondent for Newsweek and the Washington Post, Just has lived and written in half a dozen countries, including Britain, France, and Vietnam. His characters often lead public lives as politicians, civil servants, soldiers, artists, and writers. It is the tension between public duty and private conscience that animates much of his fiction, including Forgetfulness. Just and his wife, Sarah Catchpole, divide their time between Martha's Vineyard and Paris.