by John O'Hara
First published 1986
Joseph Chapin sits in his law office in Gibbsville, Pennsylvania, reviewing another successful case. His reputation as a pillar of the community seems unshakeable. He has built what everyone considers the perfect American life: a thriving legal practice, a respectable marriage, and the social standing that comes with doing everything right. But Chapin harbors desires that would destroy everything he has constructed. His sexual secrets simmer beneath the surface of his carefully maintained public image. The weight of these hidden truths grows heavier as he navigates family obligations and community expectations. His wife and children see only the successful lawyer and devoted family man. The town knows only the upstanding citizen who represents their highest ideals. The secrets that Chapin guards so carefully threaten to explode beyond his control. What he has buried so deep could shatter not just his own family but ripple through the entire community that has placed him on a pedestal. The distance between who he appears to be and who he really is becomes impossible to maintain.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, american, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: deception, hidden-identity, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Gibbsville, Pennsylvania
Period: 20th-century
400 pages · Hardcover · Hutchinson
Content warnings: sexual-content