The New Book - by Padgett Powell (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

From one of the great stylists of American letters comes a new novel--his first in years--about the bargains and buy-ins of fiction.

On the surface, The New Book is a novel about two romantic couples. But as the lovers begin to transform into celebrities--including Ted Turner, Vanna White, and others--the novel reveals that its primary interest is not the fate of any given character, but the (tragicomic) drama of writing itself. When its author is beset by questions of competence and a crisis of faith, he surrenders control to an admin team that quickly meets its own moment of reckoning: "We are pointless, careless people here in New Book Admin."

As in the work of Barry Hannah, Lorrie Moore, and Donald Barthelme, Powell's fiction leavens its slapstick humor and flamboyant invention with a dependable tenderness. Above all, The New Book is a lyrical and entrancing work that prods at the categorical boundaries and rules that define our worlds, real and invented. It's a moving ad tender rebuke to rule-following in life, love, and art.

About the Author

Padgett Powell has published six novels, three collections of short stories, and a book of non-fiction. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's, The Paris Review, Best American Short Stories, and Best American Sportswriting. He has won the Prix de Rome and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in fiction.