The Call - by Yannick Murphy (Paperback)

About the Book

Murphy presents a beautifully written novel about a family of five in rural New England, told through the charming, witty, and loving voice of the veterinarian father.

Book Synopsis

"Yannick Murphy, while being one of our most daring andoriginal writers, is first and foremost an exquisitely attuned observer ofhuman behavior. . . . Murphy's work provides pretty much unexceededreading pleasure." --Dave Eggers

Thewarm, wry, and patient voice of a veterinarian father tells the heartfelt storyof his young New England family enduring a moving trial of loyalty, hope, andfaith after they are confronted with an unthinkable crisis. Acclaimed author Yannick Murphy's intimate narrative style and lovely prosewill enthrall readers of Rivka Galchen, Padgett Powell, and Murphy's own Signed, Mata Hari.The Call is a "triumph of quiet humorand understated beauty" (Publishers Weekly, starred review) from anauthor that the New York Times Book Review calls "an extraordinarilygifted fabulist."

From the Back Cover

The daily rhythm of a veterinarian's family in rural New England is shaken when a hunting accident leaves their eldest son in a coma. With the lives of his loved ones unhinged, the veterinarian struggles to maintain stability while searching for the man responsible. But in the midst of their great trial an unexpected visitor arrives, requesting a favor that will have profound consequences--testing a loving father's patience, humor, and resolve and forcing husband and wife to come to terms with what "family" truly means.

The Call is a gift from one of the most talented and extraordinary voices in contemporary fiction--a unique and heartfelt portrait of a family, poignant and rich in humor and imagination.

Review Quotes

"Intense, atmospheric and erotic, this is more prose poem than historical novel." - Kirkus
Praise for Yannick Murphy's Signed, Mata Hari: "Murphy is an extraordinarily gifted fabulist. [Signed, Mata Hari is] completely original, ... [a] beguiling evocation." Editor's Choice! - Liesl Schillinger, The New York Times Book Review
"[An] alluring novel, ... hypnotic [and as] softly poetic as it is insistent, [Signed, Mata Hari] entices the reader from the first lines to give Mata Hari what she always craved: not the secrets that are the currency of a spy, but the rapt attention that is oxygen to a performer." - Starred Review, Publisher's Weekly
"In the fictionalized confessional Signed, Mata Hari, Yannick Murphy reincarnates the legendary seductress who was accused of being a double agent in World War I, giving her a lyrical voice and an irrepressible vivacity. . . . Most of the twists and gyrations take place on the page, not the stage, [and by] the time her last morning arrives and she walks out to face a French firing squad--sans blindfold--we feel as besotted with this passionate, provocative woman as were the rest of her hapless admirers." - Corrie Pikul, ELLE
"[Mata Hari's] often-overshadowed life provides the emotional core of Yannick Murphy's wondrous novel, Signed, Mata Hari. Zelle's death was merely the tragic end of a tragic life, and here Murphy, through exquisite and lush fiction, creates as fully-drawn a portrait of her as any biographer could have done." - Renée Graham, The Boston Globe
"Unself-consciously sensual and achingly beautiful, [Signed, Mata Hari consists of] short, exquisite, though never precious, chapters refined almost to a sequence of prose poems. [This] is a profound and profoundly beautiful novel, one that forcefully renews literary fiction's claim to be a laboratory of the human spirit." - Tim Rutten, Los Angeles Times
"This subtle, beautifully rendered novel is one of the best books of the year." - Flavorwire
"[An] inventive novel . . . told with wry wit and unabashed anger, the story unfolds through the rural veterinarian's call notes." - Bark
"The Call surprised me from the first page to the last and delighted me on every one in between. . . . I feel lucky to have read it." - Yankee Magazine
"Its peculiar charm eludes easy categorization. The most striking element of The Call is its distinctive structure: The story comes to us in a stream of statements and summaries, as in the veterinarian's medical logbook or journal. . . . With its combination of Yankee stoicism and offhand poetry, the book conveys the slightly archaic feel of a biblical parable, a real accomplishment in today's hyper-contemporary fictional landscape. All told, The Call is definitely worth answering." - Washington Post
"Its peculiar charm eludes easy categorization. . . . With its combination of Yankee stoicism and offhand poetry, the book conveys the slightly archaic feel of a biblical parable, a real accomplishment in today's hyper-contemporary fictional landscape. All told, The Call is definitely worth answering." - Washington Post
"This is a beautiful book, and one that partly due to its mechanism but mostly due to its prowess at considering how life goes, is one that should act as a great model for using form as a scaffolding for innovation of approach, while also firing from the hip of the voice and the blood of why people started telling stories ever at all." - HTML Giant
"A quirky, artful and ultimately moving story of a year in the life of country vet." - Shelf Awareness
"Wondrously dynamic. . . . A warm-hearted paean to family devotion." - Wall Street Journal