Every Last One - (Random House Reader's Circle) by Anna Quindlen (Paperback)

About the Book

A moving, suspenseful, and surprising novel by the #1 "New York Times"-bestselling author of "A Short Guide to a Happy Life" follows a suburban family and the disastrous, unintended consequences of what seem like small, casual actions.

Book Synopsis

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - In this "spellbinding" (The New York Times Book Review) novel, the author of Still Life with Bread Crumbs creates an unforgettable portrait of a mother, a father, a family, and the explosive, violent consequences of what seem like inconsequential actions.

"In a tale that rings strikingly true, [Anna] Quindlen captures both the beauty and the breathtaking fragility of family life."--People

Mary Beth Latham has built her life around her family, around caring for her three teenage children and preserving the rituals of their daily life. When one of her sons becomes depressed, Mary Beth focuses on him, only to be blindsided by a shocking act of violence. What happens afterward is a testament to the power of a woman's love and determination, and to the invisible lines of hope and healing that connect one human being to another.

Ultimately, as rendered in Anna Quindlen's mesmerizing prose, Every Last One is a novel about facing every last one of the things we fear the most, about finding ways to navigate a road we never intended to travel.

Review Quotes

"We come to love this family, because Quindlen makes their ordinary lives so fascinating, their mundane interactions engaging and important. . . . Never read a book that made you cry? Be prepared for a deluge of tears."--USA Today

"Anna Quindlen's writing is like knitting; prose that wraps the reader in the warmth and familiarity of domestic life. . . . Then, as in her novels Black and Blue and One True Thing, Quindlen starts to pull at the world she has knitted, and lets it unravel across the pages."--The Seattle Times

"Packs an emotional punch . . . Quindlen succeeds at conveying the transience of everyday worries and the never-ending boundaries of a mother's love."--The Washington Post

"A wise, closely observed, achingly eloquent book."--HuffPost

"If you pick up Every Last One to read a few pages after dinner, you'll want to read another chapter, and another and another, until you get to bed late."--Associated Press

"Quindlen conjures family life from a palette of finely observed details."--Los Angeles Times

"[Quindlen's] emotional sophistication, and her journalistic eye for authentic dialogue and detail, bring the ring of truth to every page of this heartbreakingly timely novel."--NPR

About the Author

Anna Quindlen is the author of many bestselling books, including the #1 New York Times bestselling novel Rise and Shine, the #1 bestselling memoir Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, and A Short Guide to a Happy Life. Her other novels include Blessings, One True Thing, the Oprah Book Club Selection Black and Blue, and Still Life with Bread Crumbs.