by Kevin Wilson
First published 2011
Buster and Annie Fang spent their childhood as unwilling stars in their parents' performance art pieces. Caleb and Camille Fang built their careers on disrupting normal life, turning grocery stores and public spaces into stages for their elaborate stunts. Their children served as props in these chaotic spectacles, never knowing when a family outing might transform into another artistic statement. Now adults, both Buster and Annie struggle to function in the ordinary world their parents taught them to distrust. When their carefully constructed independent lives fall apart, they reluctantly return to the family home. There they discover that Caleb and Camille have conceived their most ambitious project yet. The parents plan this final performance as their crowning achievement, and they expect their adult children to participate whether they consent or not. The family faces a breaking point as artistic ambition collides with the desire for normalcy, forcing each member to choose between loyalty to art and loyalty to each other.
Genres: satire, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
320 pages · Hardcover · Ecco