The Building

The Building, the first book of the Furnass Towers Trilogy, is the story of the well-intentioned but ill-conceived attempt to construct a high-rise building in the middle of a stricken mill town. It is the story of a head-strong superintendent who pours concrete when he's told not to . . . of a rebar foreman whose insecurities make him dangerous to everyone around him . . . the story of an architect who hides the project's true cost so he can build a monument to himself . . . a young inspector totally out of his depth . . . a local developer content to wait and pick up the pieces when the dust settles . . . and it is the story of a young woman across the alley who dances each morning in her window as she takes her shower, who distracts one worker to the point of a fatal accident and provides sanctuary for another.

Critical praise for Richard Snodgrass' first novel, There's Something in the Back Yard:

"Observe this mysterious book and be changed." --The Washington Post Book World

"A striking debut." --Kirkus Reviews (starred)

"A haunting, seductive, original story." --Publishers Weekly

"A well-tempered, comically rueful novel." --The Christian Science Monitor

"The novel sticks in your mind." --Los Angeles Times