The Long Accomplishment - by Rick Moody (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"[A] moving, funny, hauntingly brilliant memoir about marriage." --Caroline Leavitt, The San Francisco Chronicle

Rick Moody, the award-winning author of The Ice Storm, shares the harrowing true story of the first year of his second marriage in this eventful, month-by-month account.

At the start of The Long Accomplishment, Moody, a recovering alcoholic and sexual compulsive with a history of depression, is also the divorced father of a beloved little girl and a man in love; his answer to the question "Would you like to be in a committed relationship?" is, fully and for the first time in his life, "Yes."

And so his second marriage begins as he emerges, humbly and with tender hopes, from the wreckage of his past, only to be battered by a stormy sea of external troubles--miscarriages, the deaths of friends, and robberies, just for starters. As Moody has put it, "This is a story in which a lot of bad luck is the daily fare of the protagonists, but in which they are also in love." To Moody's astonishment, matrimony turns out to be the site of strength in hard times, a vessel infinitely tougher and more durable than any boat these two participants would have traveled by alone. Love buoys the couple, lifting them above their hardships, and the reader is buoyed along with them.

Review Quotes

"[The Long Accomplishment feels like] a person pouring out his heart and soul to you from across a table. . . . [A] moving, funny, hauntingly brilliant memoir about marriage. . . . What is more full of grace than that?"
--The San Francisco Chronicle

"Touching. . . . In heart-wrenching detail, Moody . . . weaves in [tales] of hardship. . . . A revealing, intimate memoir--and a moving love letter."
--Publishers Weekly

"A raw and candid account of the power of committed love to combat life's sorrows."
--The Millions

"In unflinching, diary style . . . Moody balances emotional adversity with poignant digressions. . . . And his clever turns of phrase hint at a sense of wonder . . . recognizing that good fortune seems preordained while transcending tragedy requires something magical, namely, the power of love."
--Booklist

Praise for Rick Moody

"One of the most prodigiously talented writers in America."
--The Wall Street Journal

"Bold and thrilling. . . . Rick Moody has spirit and drive and talent to burn."
--New York Times Book Review

"That rare writer who can make the language do tricks and still suffuse his narrative with soul."
--Esquire

"Often downright brilliant. . . . Moody's prose is vibrant and elegant."
--Denver Post

"[Moody] gets at the tactile quintessence of lived life with an accuracy that can leave readers woozy."
--San Francisco Chronicle

About the Author