Elizabeth Hartley Winthrop

December

“A fast-paced, entertaining summer read” (People), The Why of Things is a “keenly observed” and “richly drawn” (The New York Times) novel about a family fighting towards hope in the wake of a terrible tragedy. Since the loss of her seventeen-year-old daughter less than a year ago, Joan Jacobs has struggled to keep her tight-knit family from coming apart. But Joan and Anders, her husband, are unable to snap back into the familiarity and warmth they so desperately need, both for themselves and for their surviving daughters, Eve and Eloise. The family flees to their summer home in search of peace and renewal, only to encounter an eerily similar tragedy when a pickup truck drives into the quarry in their backyard killing a young local named James Favazza. As the Jacobs family learns more about the inexplicable events that preceded that fateful evening, each of them becomes increasingly tangled in the emotional threads of James’s story: fifteen-year-old Eve is determined to solve, on her own, the mystery of his death; Anders finds himself facing his own deepest fears; and seven-year-old Eloise unwittingly adopts James’s orphaned dog. For her part, Joan becomes increasingly fixated on James’s mother, a stranger whose sudden loss so closely mirrors her own. With an urgent, beautiful intimacy that her fans have come to expect from this “bitingly intelligent writer” (The New York Times), Elizabeth Hartley Winthrop delivers here a powerful, buoyant novel that explores the complexities of family relationships and the small triumphs that can bring unexpected healing. The Why of Things is a wise, empathetic, and exquisitely heartfelt story about the strength of family bonds. It is an unforgettable and searing tour de force.

A Novel

The Why of Things

Arriving in their summer home less than a year after the suicide of a teenage daughter, Joan and her family stumble on the death of a local young man and adopt his homeless dog before bonding with his grieving mother and learning that the victim's death was not accidental. By the author of December. 35,000 first printing.

Mens solen går ned over Louisiana en smuk oktoberaften i 1943, tilbringer en ung sort mand sine sidste timer alene i en fængselscelle. Når klokken slår midnat skal den attenårige Willie Jones henrettes for at have voldtaget en hvid pige – en forbrydelse, flere er begyndt at tvivle på, om han er skyldig i. Imens bumler en elektrisk stol af sted gennem landskabet, fastsurret på ladet af en gammel pickup truck. Den er venligst udlånt af det nærmeste statsfængsel til lejligheden. Fra den modsatte side nærmer Willies desperate far sig med sønnens gravsten på en kærre, trukket at muldyret Bess, der hele tiden går uhjælpeligt i stå. Og mens timerne går, stiger spændingen, og noget ulmer i det lille sydstatssamfund, hvor almindelig menneskelig værdighed er oppe imod en rå og nedarvet tankegang. Et rystende vidnesbyrd af en roman, der lavmælt og usentimentalt beskriver, hvordan angst og fordomme trækker et samfund fra hinanden og slider gode mennesker op.

Nådestolen

Louisiana 1943. Aan de vooravond van zijn executie wacht de achttienjarige Willie Jones in de cel zijn einde af. Een vrachtwagen bestuurt door een veroordeelde en zijn bewaker brengt Willies beul, een elektrische stoel, langzaam dichterbij. Willies vader Frank kocht van zijn laatste geld een grafsteen voor zijn zoon die op de rug van een oude muilezel naar de gevangenis gesleept wordt. Terwijl de officier van justitie het door hem veroorzaakte vonnis van Willie overdenkt, worstelt een echtpaar buiten de stad met hun eigen verdriet en geheimen. De genadestoel is een even schokkende als tedere roman over een plaats waar verdeeldheid en vooroordelen gemeengoed zijn, geschreven door een van de meest scherpzinnige literaire waarnemers van deze tijd.

De genadestoel

Paul Yoon

William Nicholson

Teddy Wayne

Jim Gavin

Marjorie Celona

We are proud to introduce seven powerful, original, and irresistible novels coming in 2013 from Simon & Schuster: The Love Song of Jonny Valentine, Y, Middle Men, Motherland, The Why of Things, The Gravity of Birds, and Snow Hunters. This sample features exclusive excerpts, interviews with the writers, and commentary from the books’ editors. · In The Love Song of Jonny Valentine by Teddy Wayne, an eleven-year-old pop megastar searches for his identity in the dark heart of America's monstrous obsession with fame. · Marjorie Celona’s highly acclaimed and exquisitely rendered debut, Y, follows a wise-beyond-her-years foster child abandoned as a newborn on the doorstep of the local YMCA. · From an Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, Motherland is a powerful story of a love triangle set in England, France, India, and Jamaica against the backdrop of World War II. · In Middle Men, Stegner Fellow and New Yorker contributor Jim Gavin delivers a hilarious and panoramic vision of California, portraying a group of men, from young dreamers to old vets, as they make valiant forays into middle-class respectability. · Tracy Guzeman's compelling debut novel, The Gravity of Birds, follows the ordeal of an art authenticator and an art historian employed by a famous, reclusive painter to sell a never-before-seen portrait, leading them to discover devastating secrets two sisters have kept from each other, and from the artist. · In Snow Hunters, an elegant, haunting, and highly anticipated debut novel from 5 Under 35 National Book Foundation honoree Paul Yoon, a North Korean war refugee confronts the wreckage of his past. · From the critically acclaimed author of December comes The Why Of Things, a buoyant and beautiful new novel about a family struggling in the aftermath of a suicide. Each author is an accomplished artist and has created a lasting work you’ll want to read and relish and talk about.

Elizabeth Hartley Winthrop

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