Body Politic

In the bestselling tradition of The Interestings and A Little Life, this ';cleverly constructed and emotionally compelling' (Jenny Offill, Dept. of Speculation) novel follows four longtime friends as they navigate love, commitment, and forgiveness while the world around them changes beyond recognitionfrom the author of the ';savvy, heartfelt, and utterly engaging' (Alice McDermott) Bed-Stuy Is Burning. New York City is still regaining its balance in the years following September 11, when four twenty-somethingsTess, Tazio, David, and Angelicameet in a bar, each yearning for something: connection, recognition, a place in the world, a cause to believe in. Nearly fifteen years later, as their city recalibrates in the wake of the 2016 election, their bond has enduredbut almost everything else has changed. As freshmen at Cooper Union, Tess and Tazio were the ambitious, talented future of the art worldbut by thirty-six, Tess is married to David, the mother of two young boys, and working as an understudy on Broadway. Kind and steady, David is everything Tess lacked in her own childhoodbut a recent freak accident has left him with befuddling symptoms, and she's still adjusting to her new role as caretaker. Meanwhile, Taziowho once had a knack for earning the kind of attention that Cooper Union students long forhas left the art world for a career in creative branding and politics. But in December 2016, fresh off the astonishing loss of his candidate, Tazio is adrift, and not even his gorgeous and accomplished fiance, Angelica, seems able to get through to him. With tensions rising on the national stage, the four friends are forced to face the reality of their shared histories, especially a long-ago betrayal that has shaped every aspect of their friendship. Elegant and perceptive, ';The Body Politic is a book about many thingswhat it means to be unwell, what it means to heal, how deep and strange friendships can be, and how hidden things never stay hidden for long' (Rachel Monroe, author of Savage Appetites).