The Condition: A Novel - Softcover

Haigh, Jennifer

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0061685917 ISBN 13: 9780061685910

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2008

Synopsis

The Condition tells the story of a proper New England family that comes apart one fateful summer. To their dismay, Frank and Paulette McKotch's daughter, Gwen, has been diagnosed with Turner's syndrome—a genetic condition that leaves her trapped forever in the body of a child, and sparks heated dispute between the couple.

Twenty years later, their three children—now grown, and each struggling with secret conditions of their own—are still dealing with the fallout of Frank and Paulette's divorce. Then, suddenly, Gwen falls in love for the first time, and the family's world is again tilted on its axis.

In an era when individual quirks look increasingly like symptoms and every symptom demands to be treated, the McKotches are determined to fix themselves and each other. They are a family for our time.

About this title

About the Author:

Jennifer Haigh is the author of the short-story collection News from Heaven and four critically acclaimed novels: Faith, The Condition, Baker Towers, and Mrs. Kimble. Her books have won both the PEN/Hemingway Award for debut fiction and the PEN/L.L. Winship Award for work by a New England writer. Her short fiction has been published widely, in The Atlantic, Granta, The Best American Short Stories, and many other places. She lives in Boston.

Review:

“[Haigh] looks unflinchingly at family ties―the kind that limit and the kind that can actually liberate. The Condition is a satisfying feat of literary choreography.” (Wall Street Journal)

“THE CONDITION is something rare. . . . Ms. Haigh has a great gift for telling interwoven family stories and doing justice to all the different perspectives they present. . . . A remarkable accomplishment.” (Janet Maslin, New York Times Book Review)

“Haigh’s characters are layered and authentic. Moreover, one would have to have a heart of stone not to care for them and follow their small sagas. . . . Haigh is such a gifted chronicler of the human condition.” (Chris Bohjalian, Washington Post Book World)

“Jennifer Haigh illuminates the dark tangle of desire and deed that is the family, that crucible we so often yearn to flee yet keep coming back to again and again. THE CONDITION is unsentimental, compelling, and moving, and I urge you to read it!” (Andre Dubus III, New York Times bestselling author of the National Book Award finalist House of Sand and Fog)

“The ailment at the center of this remarkable novel is the human condition itself. Jennifer Haigh has written a sprawling, emotionally gripping account of one family’s troubled history, enlivened by her formidable intelligence and deep insight into her characters’ hearts and minds.” (Tom Perrotta, New York Times bestselling author of Little Children and Election)

“[A] rich, enjoyable third novel. . . . Haigh sets many balls in motion . . . [and] the McKotch clan evolves believably, and satisfyingly.” (People (People Pick))

“Poignant. . . . A strong nod to the healing power of love.” (Publishers Weekly)

“Filled with genuine insight and touching lyricism.” (Kirkus Reviews)

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0061685917
• ISBN 13: 9780061685910
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 400