by Nathan Hill
First published 2023
Jack and Elizabeth first connected as college students in 1990s Chicago, bonding over their shared dreams of making it in the city's underground art scene. Two decades later, their marriage confronts pressures they never anticipated. Parenting brings its own challenges, but stranger obstacles emerge from modern life itself. Mindfulness groups that operate like cults target them. Polyamorous acquaintances make unwelcome advances. Facebook arguments spiral out of control. Someone introduces them to something called Love Potion Number Nine. For the first time in their relationship, Jack and Elizabeth struggle to see each other clearly. Their youthful artistic ambitions remain unfulfilled. Painful memories from their respective dysfunctional childhoods resurface. Both partners must dig deep into their personal histories and confront what they find there. The alternative is losing what matters most to them.
Genres: literary-fiction, contemporary, relationships, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Chicago
Period: 1990s, 2010s
611 pages · Hardcover · Knopf
Content warnings: mental-illness