Reunion of Ghosts - Softcover

Mitchell, Judith Claire

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007594356 ISBN 13: 9780007594351

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 2015

Synopsis

How do three sisters write a single suicide note? This is the riddle the Alter sisters-Lady, Vee and Delph-pose at the outset of this darkly funny novel as they finalize their plans to collectively end their lives on New Year's Eve, 1999.

Their reasons are not theirs alone, and they prove that the sins of the father are indeed visited upon the children, even to the third and fourth generations. The Jewish Alter family has been haunted by suicide ever since the sisters' great-grandfather, the Nobel Prize-winning chemist Lenz Alter, developed the first poison gas used in warfare and also the lethal agent used in the gas chambers of the Third Reich. Lenz and his wife, Iris, their son Richard and his children, Rose, Violet and Dahlie, all took their own lives.

Now Dahlie's children are the only ones remaining. Lady, Vee and Delph love one another fiercely and protect one another from the shadows of the past through a shared sense of dark, deeply brilliant humour. As they gather in the Upper West Side apartment in which they were raised to close the circle of the Alter curse, an epic and achingly human tale-inspired in part by the true story of Fritz Haber, Nobel Prize winner and inventor of mustard gas-unfolds. Part wry memoir, part unflinching eulogy for those who have gone before, this is an intensely personal but profound commentary on the events of the 20th century. As one of the characters remarks, "Too bad Lenz Alter didn't invent Prozac instead of chlorine gas; that probably would have saved them all."

Judith Claire Mitchell's epic narrative captures three unforgettable characters-and their haunted family-within one brutally witty, achingly human voice.

About this title

About the Author:

Judith Claire Mitchell, author of the novel The Last Day of the War, is an English professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Mitchell has received fellowships from the James A. Michener/Copernicus Society, Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing, Wisconsin Arts Board, and elsewhere. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

Review:

`Had me devouring the pages ... A story that's tragic, touching and - against all odds - strangely uplifting' Stylist Magazine, 5 Stars`One of the sharpest, tartest, flat-out funniest books you're likely to read any time soon... A master-class in tragi-comedy' Hepzibah Anderson, Jewish Chronicle`A triumphant, beautiful, and devastating novel about coincidences, family, and the sins of our fathers' Anthony Doerr, author of All The Light We Cannot See`My favourite novel of the year ... This mordantly funny story of the Alter sisters is a literary mash-up of The Virgin Suicides and Grey Gardens. I wouldn't be surprised if Wes Anderson and Sofia Coppola are slugging it out for the film rights already.' Sam Baker, Harpers Bazaar, Books of 2015`A book about suicide, written by three damaged characters hell-bent on self-destruction? It may not sound a barrel of laughs, but this is not only poignant and moving, but genuinely funny - with the humour ranging from the darkest comedy to some superbly silly puns' Daily Mail`A Reunion of Ghosts is a very funny book but it is also tender, sombre and thought-provoking' Financial Times`Mitchell's masterful family saga is as funny as it is aching ... For the Alters, life has been a seemingly endless series of tragedies; for us, the tragedy is that this stunning novel inevitably comes to an end' Kirkus, starred review`This original tale is black comedy at its best' People`The Alter sisters are mordant, wry and crystalline in wit and vision; it is a tremendous pleasure to rocket through generations of their family histories with them' Lauren Groff, author of Arcadia`A rich portrait of a complicated family, at turns violent and hilarious, shot through with love and death and the scars that reappear generation after generation' Emma Straub, author of The Vacationers`Dark but comedic, A Reunion of Ghosts is the portrait of four generations of a complicated family' Buzzfeed, `The Most Exciting New Books of 2015'

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0007594356
• ISBN 13: 9780007594351
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1