The Wentworths - Softcover

Arnoldi, Katie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1590201523 ISBN 13: 9781590201527

Publisher: The Overlook Press, 2009

Synopsis

Katie Arnoldi's critically acclaimed debut novel Chemical Pink launched her onto the bestseller lists and so burrowed itself into the public's consciousness that its title was the answer to a Double Jeopardy! question. Now, seven years later, her second novel, The Wentworths, gives her readers a fascinating, erotic, dark, and savagely funny page-turner that will both thrill her fans and appeal to new readers of all stripes. Arnoldi's searing portrait of a wealthy Westside, Los Angeles family, is a true binge read-boldly dramatizing the disfunctionality of the modern American family as it examines how people get so screwed up. Comic and horrifying, sadistic and hilarious, tragic and funny all at the same time, The Wentworths is a shocking, yet redemptive tale that will have fans cheering.

About this title

About the Author:

Katie Arnoldi's literary debut Chemical Pink, set in the competitive world of female bodybuilding, became a surprise bestseller, winning Arnoldi praise from critics and readers alike. The Wentworths too graced the bestseller list. She lives in Southern California with her husband, the painter Charles Arnoldi, and their two children.

From Publishers Weekly:

With a wry touch, Arnoldi draws a mocking portrait of a powerful Southern California family that, while not the worst family on record, is remarkably warped by wealth and power. The Wentworths' individual faults play off the milieu of familial grotesques: mother Judith's a dieting narcissist who abuses the servants, while patriarch Gus's compulsive philandering has been inherited and surpassed by his sexually deviant son Conrad, defense lawyer to the scummy stars. Conrad's sister, Becky, is the only offspring with a family of her own, and their problems (kleptomaniac son, depressed teenage daughter) hover closer to the edge of normalcy. The final family member, gay Norman, lives in a fantasy world in the pool house and offers analyses of his kin's foibles. The Wentworths' fortress of supposed superiority is threatened by two women: Angela, a conniving ex of Conrad's, and Honey, Gus's naïve paramour. As the family closes ranks, comedy and tragedy ensue. A page-turner both for its well-paced intrigue and for its witty, sordid description of just how awful these people can get, the book's coup isn't the skewering Arnoldi (Chemical Pink) gives her overprivileged clan; it's the redemption they find after they're served twisted justice. (Mar.)
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About this edition

• Publisher: The Overlook Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1590201523
• ISBN 13: 9781590201527
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256