Foreclosure Gothic - by Harris Lahti (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Foreclosure Gothic reimagines the American Gothic against the backdrop of today's Hudson Valley. The story tells of ex-Hollywood actor Vic Greener as he falls in love with the elusive Heather Roswell and the couple, following in the footsteps of Vic's father, resolves to make a life restoring one foreclosed home after another. Then comes the uncanny, destabilizing arrival of new tenants in their duplex, and the Greener's shocking discovery upon their departure"--

Book Synopsis

"Lyrical and eerie . . . the prose is subtly alluring, such as the author's description of nature as 'a witch's brew of mistrust.' This sly and creepy drama is worth a look."--Publishers Weekly

A multigenerational and deeply autobiographical gothic tale of Hollywood dreams and upstate New York reality.

Foreclosure Gothic reimagines the American Gothic against the backdrop of today's Hudson Valley. The story tells of ex-Hollywood actor Vic Greener as he falls in love with the elusive Heather Roswell and the couple, following in the footsteps of Vic's father, resolves to make a life restoring one foreclosed home after another. Then comes the uncanny, destabilizing arrival of new tenants in their duplex, and the Greener's shocking discovery upon their departure.

With evocative and unsettling black and white photos throughout, this debut novel is at once a skewed portrait of three generations of Greener men, an intimate look at both childhood and parenthood and an examination of the friction between chasing one's dream and working to make money.

Review Quotes

"In a cultural landscape saturated with remakes and algorithmic storylines engineered to mimic past successes and deliver tidy, marketable resolutions, what distinguishes Foreclosure Gothic is Lahti's intuitive aesthetic and conceptual control: his stylized, hyperconcrete prose conjures scenes that are both vivid and withholding . . . It was heartening to be reminded that this kind of attention--not just to topic but to the architecture of story itself--is not extinct; that there are still emerging authors who are committed to the slow, enduring labor of processing the possibility the art form allows."
--Leah Dworkin, Los Angeles Review of Books

"Harris Lahti's debut, Foreclosure Gothic, is a goth song in novel form. It is full of murk, omens, melodrama, the lushness of carnality, and the fearsomeness of love's darker impulses . . . Lahti is a master of the portent."
--Melissa Holbrook Pierson, Brooklyn Rail

"Lahti stretches as far as a contemporary gothic can go, in the age of information and disbelief, without verging into a pure pulp . . . In Foreclosure Gothic, the threat of violence is more vivid for being unacknowledged . . . Foreclosure Gothic understands the real horror is within the grind to nowhere."
--Carina Imbornone, The Baffler

"Foreclosure Gothic is a twisted melodrama animated by close encounters with addiction, incest, and death by misadventure. But it's also an earnest heartland romance . . . An escape from escapism."
--Kenneth Dillon, The Believer

"[Foreclosure Gothic is] an immersive read with a thrumming pace and mesmerizing prose . . . [Lahti's] sentences are harmonic and masterful; his clauses build beautifully toward his desired (often ominous) moods and meanings."
--Nicole Treska, Zona Motel

"The modern-day Hudson Valley gets an American Gothic makeover in Warwick author Harris Lahti's debut novel . . . A provocative insight into the American Dream."
--Abilene Adelman, Chronogram

"An ominous and darkly comic domestic horror that channels an era-spanning sense of foreboding. Lahti's prose is effective without feeling flashy, capturing the grime and decay of the modern-day Hudson Valley. A standout debut for readers who favor atmosphere over plot."
--Brian Seitz, Literati Bookstore in Ann Arbor, MI

"Foreclosure Gothic, Harris Lahti's debut novel, is a chilling, absorbing, searingly memorable work of gothic fiction . . . While such spooky surrealism may occasionally skew the picture, don't be fooled--Foreclosure Gothic is a deeply human, and deeply personal, story about intergenerational cycles and the financial reality of creative ambition. Read it once for the sinewy poetry and evocative imagery. Read it twice to unveil the sly plotting and subtly intricate architecture. Like a foreclosed property, there is a 'house behind the house.' Lahti's debut rewards repeat readings."
--Michael Knapp, Electric Literature

"A wild ride that is on its way to becoming an all-timer. Lahti will grab you on page one and not let you go as you feel the unearthlyness take over your body. This is firing on all cylinders and the beautiful thing is it feels like Lahti did it effortlessly. Simply stunning."
--Adam Vitcavage, Debutiful

"Lyrical and eerie . . . the prose is subtly alluring, such as the author's description of nature as 'a witch's brew of mistrust.' This sly and creepy drama is worth a look."
--Publishers Weekly

"Harris Lahti's writing is a delight, and a thrill. Here's a young writer who gets it, sharp-witted, smart, a writer with great style and skill. His bleakly comic novel is very real. His anti-hero Vic is contemporary, at first a young man cool and fraught, an actor in the world and in fact on TV. An ambitious man struggling to take care of his wife and son through the years, but like young men today, vexed and astounded by the daily vicissitudes he faces. The world is absurd, he knows it, he lives it. This is one of the best younger writers I see coming, and expect a great literary future for Harris Lahti."
--Lynne Tillman, author of Mothercare

"Suspenseful and visionary, hypnotic and absurd, Foreclosure Gothic is a startling novel about the darkness of the American dream. Like Joy Williams and Fleur Jaeggy, Harris Lahti is an extraordinary prose stylist carefully attuned to violence and beauty in this major debut."
--Patrick Cottrell, author of Sorry to Disrupt the Peace

"Foreclosure Gothic makes me excited about the future of literary fiction. It is rare for a debut to be simultaneously formally innovative and so classically minded. Lahti writes like de Kooning paints. This is a real, proper novel. I consider Harris Lahti to be the competition."
--Gabriel Smith, author of Brat

"This complex and daring work embodies a country constantly reimagining itself. By turns lyrical, curiously suspenseful, and fresh, this novel is one I will return to time and again for its beautiful prose."
--Zain Khalid, author of Brother Alive

"In Foreclosure Gothic the sickening, thrilling glint of desperation runs across the dark landscape of Americana, through highways and bad jobs and crumbling homes. Harris Lahti's vision is one of grim humor and gristly poetry, but it always leaves room for the wonderful terror of promise held in chance encounters. A remarkable debut."
--Tracy O'Neill, author of Women of Interest

"Harris Lahti is one of the most exciting stylists working today. File his work next to Amy Hempel, Raymond Carver, Barry Hannah."
--Bud Smith, author of Teenager

"If you enjoy slow-burn horror with philosophical undercurrents and a touch of the surreal, Foreclosure Gothic is definitely worth the read . . . The atmospheric storytelling in Foreclosure Gothic is outstanding. Lahti paints vivid scenes of decaying houses and empty landscapes in a way that mirrors the emotional decay of the characters. The writing feels hypnotic and poetic." --Sara Gresham

About the Author

Harris Lahti's short stories have appeared in BOMB, New York Tyrant, Ninth Letter, Southwest Review, Forever Magazine, and elsewhere. He co-founded the new press, Cash 4 Gold Books, and edits fiction for FENCE. For a living, he paints and renovates houses in New York's Hudson Valley. Read more: harrislahti.com.