Coming of Age at the End of Days: A Novel - Softcover

LaPlante, Alice

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802125018 ISBN 13: 9780802125019

Publisher: Grove Press, 2016

Synopsis

From New York Times bestselling author Alice LaPlante comes a mesmerizing novel of destruction and renewal as a headstrong young woman joins a doomsday cult only to find salvation on an unexpected journey. LaPlante's acclaimed psychological thrillers are distinguished by their stunning synthesis of family drama and engrossing suspense, and Coming of Age at the End of Days delves even deeper into the creases of domestic life.

As an earnest young girl, Anna learned to fit in by hiding her quirks from her parents and friends. But at sixteen, a sudden depression takes hold of her life, and she loses her sense of self and purpose as well as the will to conform. Then the Bible-touting Goldschmidts move in next door. Anna is awestruck by both their charismatic son, Lars, and their fervent violent prophecies for the Tribulation at the End of Days.

Within months, Anna's life—her family, her home, her very identity—will undergo profound change. Yet when her newfound beliefs and misguided convictions bear irrevocable consequences, she must find the strength to persevere with the help of unlikely friends: Jim, a childhood crush wading through a quarter-life crisis in his parents' basement, and Clara, her compassionate chemistry teacher desperate for adventure.

Coming of Age at the End of Days is a deeply affecting portrait of love and faith, grief and redemption, and family legacies. LaPlante brilliantly parses an altered mind on the brink, exploring the often perilous, always challenging journey to become the people we want to be at the end of our days.

About this title

About the Author

Alice LaPlante is an award-winning and best-selling author of numerous books, including A Circle of Wives and the New York Times bestseller Turn of Mind, which was the winner of the Wellcome Trust’s Book Prize and a B&N Discover Award finalist.

Review

Praise for Coming of Age at the End of Days

"Seductive." Vanity Fair

"LaPlante crafts prose that cuts to the quick and is the perfect vehicle for this dark tale. . . . A compelling read." Seattle Times

"Spare and trenchant, as if purified by fire. . . . [LaPlante's] swift plot, combined with a few stunning twists, keep the story skipping along. . . . A crisp meditation on the deadly mixture of mental illness and religious charlatanism." San Francisco Chronicle

"Readers were captivated by the imaginative plot and cast of characters each of whom, as one writes, 'plays a crucial role as Anna wrestles with melancholy, faith, salvation, and whether or not love can possibly trump the end of days.'" Elle, Winner of the Readers' Prize

"[Coming of Age at the End of Days ] raises questions about mental fragility, vulnerability, and a variety of paths toward wholeness, many of which will find resonance among readers." Bookreporter

"LaPlante masterfully weaves a distressing plot in which complex, sympathetic characters, each with a complete and absorbing past, are brought to the brink of destruction . . . [a] brilliant, thought-provoking and memorable novel. It perfectly captures the dynamics of family relationships and friendships, loyalties and priorities, and the nuanced workings of an unusual mind." Shelf Awareness

"A thought-provoking bildungsroman. . . . LaPlante’s rich themes of faith and doubt, vision and blindness, emerge compellingly." Publishers Weekly

"Tension and suspense are heightened through short chapters, terse matter-of-fact prose, and what is left unsaid." Library Journal

"[With] fleet, insightful prose, LaPlante delivers gratifying . . . twists in one girl's search for salvation." Kirkus Reviews

"LaPlante has a talent for depicting family dynamics and for making the environments her characters inhabit reflect their inner states." Booklist

"An electrifying and beautifully rendered page-turner, Coming of Age at the End of Days is a richly evocative look at what it means to find yourself in a world that can feel so hopelessly lost." Kimberly McCreight, New York Times bestselling author of Reconstructing Amelia

About this edition

• Publisher: Grove Press
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0802125018
• ISBN 13: 9780802125019
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320