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Robert Boswell’s first novel since Century’s Son showcases once again his “dazzling technical skill, intelligence and moral seriousness” (The New York Times Book Review)
At age thirty-three, James Candler seems to be well on the road to success. He’s in line for a big promotion at Onyx Springs, the treatment facility where he’s a therapist. He has a fiancée, a sizable house, and a Porsche.
But . . . he’s falling in love with another woman, he’s underwater on his mortgage, and he’s put his hapless best friend in charge of his signature therapeutic program. Even the GPS on his car can’t seem to predict where he should turn next. And his clients are struggling in their own hilarious, heartbreaking ways to keep their lives on track. How can he help them if he can’t help himself?
In Tumbledown, Robert Boswell presents a large, unforgettable cast of characters who are all failing and succeeding in various degrees to make sense of our often-irrational world. In a moving narrative twist, he boldly reckons with the extent to which tragedy can be undone, the impossible accommodated.
"Robert Boswell has always been an extremely appealing writer: uncommonly intuitive, a sparkling observer, graceful yet surprising sentence-to-sentence; and always in pursuit of important complexity in human behavior—a rare gift, which makes his writing increasingly essential." —Richard Ford
"This is a crowded, tender, and captivating novel, the experience of which brings to the fore how reading itself can replenish our love of the imperfect beauty of humanity." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
"If you read Tumbledown in public, beware: Boswell's story is barkingly, snort-spurtingly, people-give-you-looks funny. Yet its humor is the most generous kind, uncynical and unsentimental, and woven through an ensemble story so large-hearted it keeps bursting its narrative seams. The result is a brilliant, humane, engrossing argument for how infinitely whacked and contingent life can be, and therefore how desperately we need one another to survive. I finished it with a long contented sigh, thinking, this is why I love reading novels." —David Wroblewski, author of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
"[An] absorbing tale of modern chaos steeped in moral issues." —Library Journal
"Boswell displays immense talent for characterization and observation . . . An impressive work." Kirkus Reviews
Praise for Robert Boswell:
“Boswell is capable of calibrating the blur of emotion with exquisite precision.” —The Boston Globe
“Often funny and always electrifying . . . One can’t help but be reminded of the skill and grace of [Denis] Johnson.” —The Kansas City Star
“[Boswell] shows a sensitive and comprehensive understanding of the quirks that can shake a person off course: from fear, passivity and pride to external knocks and dings that are easier to spot, harder to fix.” —The New York Times Book Review
“A moving portrait of a family both torn apart and united by grief.” —The New Yorker
“Utterly compelling . . . Boswell moves from the absurd to the tragic without comment, excuse, or explanation.” —The Washington Post Book World
“Stunning . . . Cross Anne Tyler with Michael Chabon and you’d get a cast something like the one Boswell has bred.” —Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Robert Boswell’s previous books include The Heyday of the Insensitive Bastards and Mystery Ride. He teaches creative writing at the University of Houston and in the Warren Wilson College MFA program.
Overview
Robert Boswell’s first novel since Century’s Son showcases once again his “dazzling technical skill, intelligence and moral seriousness” (The New York Times Book Review)
At age thirty-three, James Candler seems to be well on the road to success. He’s in line for a big promotion at Onyx Springs, the treatment facility where he’s a therapist. He has a fiancée, a sizable house, and a Porsche.
But . . . he’s falling in love with another woman, he’s ...