The Melting Season - by Jami Attenberg (Paperback)

About the Book

From the author of "The Kept Man" comes a provocative story about friendship and self-discovery. Attenberg's imagery is picture-perfect . . . Her complex characters are not only relatable but share a journey we have all traveled.--"Elle."

Book Synopsis

From one of today's hottest novelists and author of the bestselling The Middlesteins -- a provocative story about friendship and self-discovery.

Catherine Madison left her small town in Nebraska after her husband deserted her. She's also left behind her most shameful secrets-of a family and a marriage that have plagued her with self-doubt. On the road, she's trying to become a new person. But running away from the past isn't as easy as she'd hoped. Her journey leads her to Las Vegas, where she forms surprising new friendships that compel her to reveal what she'd sworn she'd keep hidden, and teach her what human connection really means.

Review Quotes

"Attenberg's narrative voice - a lean, straight-ahead, deadpan tone that cuts cleanly through Catherine's hypocrisy and self-pity like a laser-guided strike - makes The Melting Season singular and disquieting."
-Chicago Tribune

"A rich novel, one that begins as a road-trip yarn but then contains enough twists to form a complicated emotional journey."
-Time Out Chicago

"Attenberg's imagery is picture perfect and, many times, tragic.Her complex characters are not only relatable but share a journey we have all traveled: leaving home and discovering for the first time who we really are and where we belong."
-Elle.com

"With a trail of whiskey and Diet Cokes in her wake, Catherine heads west to leave behind a damaged marriage. Reading about her life in Vegas and her road to self-discovery in this novel feels like peeking at a friend's diary."
-Glamour

"Attenberg is a brave, honest writer with scary talent, and this novel about a young woman heading west to escape a failing marriage and a small town is her best yet."
-Courier Journal

"An intelligent, moving portrait of a journey to self-awareness, with meaty characters and a refreshing absence of psychobabble."
-Kirkus Reviews

"[Attenberg] renders poignant prose and portrays the desperate behavior of her characters with verve."
-Booklist

About the Author

Jami Attenberg is the New York Times bestselling author of nine books, including The Kept Man, The Melting Season, A Reason to See You Again, The Middlesteins, All Grown Up and a memoir, I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home. She is also the creator of the annual online group writing accountability project #1000wordsofsummer, which inspired the recently published USA Today bestseller 1000 Words: A Writer's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round. Jami has also written for The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, the Sunday Times, The Guardian, and others. Her work has been published in sixteen languages. Chicago native, she lives in Brooklyn, New York.