First published 1997
One hundred brothers converge on the decaying library of their family's ancient villa for dinner and a grim task: locating their father's missing funeral urn. Donald Antrim's second novel unfolds this bizarre family reunion from sunset to dawn in a single claustrophobic setting. The brothers hurl insults, form fleeting alliances, and stage impromptu football matches while chandeliers creak ominously overhead. Rabid dogs prowl the grounds as alcohol consumption steadily climbs throughout the night. What begins as a macabre scavenger hunt escalates into something far more dangerous. Sibling rivalries intensify and old grudges resurface, pushing the gathering toward potential violence. The search for their father's remains becomes secondary to the brewing conflict between blood relatives who seem incapable of coexisting peacefully, even for one evening.
Genres: literary-fiction, mystery, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: dysfunctional-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Villa
Period: 20th-century
180 pages · Paperback · Secker & Warburg
Content warnings: alcohol-abuse, violence