A riveting debut novel for readers of Celeste Ng, Greenwich explores the nature of desire and complicity against the backdrop of immense wealth and privilege, the ways that whiteness and power protect their own, and the uneasy moral ambiguity of redemption.
Summer, 1999. Rachel Fiske is almost eighteen when she arrives at her aunt and uncle's mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut. Her glamorous aunt is struggling to heal from an injury, and Rachel wants to help-and escape her own troubles back home. But her aunt is oddly spacey and her uncle is consumed with business, and Rachel feels lonely and adrift, excluded from the world of adults and their secrets. The only bright spot is Claudia, a recent college graduate, aspiring artist, and the live-in babysitter for Rachel's cousin. As summer deepens, Rachel eagerly hopes their friendship might grow into more.
But when a tragic accident occurs, the family turns on Claudia in a desperate bid to salvage their reputation. Caught between her upbringing and her feelings for Claudia, her desire to do the right thing and to protect her future, Rachel must make a pivotal choice. She's the only one who knows what really happened-and her decision has consequences far beyond what she could have predicted. KATE BROAD holds a BA from Wellesley College and a PhD in English from the CUNY Graduate Center. A Bronx Council on the Arts award winner, her writing has appeared or is forthcoming in The Rumpus, No Tokens, The Brooklyn Review, and elsewhere. Greenwich is her first novel.
"Kate Broad's Greenwich is a page turner, an engrossing tale of a family tragedy layered against class and racial rifts in an upscale Connecticut suburb. Told from the perspective of a young adult discovering her voice and identity, it's a riveting read and not-to-be-missed debut." – Vibhuti Jain, author of Our Best Intentions
"Greenwich is a dark, lush, complex tale about the ways in which perception can be manipulated and privilege rules all. It's the story of a girl mired in doubt, a girl who's learned to stifle herself, and the woman she becomes when she learns to let it all go. I simply could not put this urgent, gorgeous book down." – Lindsay Hunter, author of Hot Springs Drive
"Prepare for an intense reading experience. Greenwich examines race, privilege, and culpability in a coming of age story that reads like a powerful thriller. Book clubs will find themselves immersed in lengthy discussions about whether accidents just happen - or is someone always responsible. Get ready to have your opinions challenged and your emotions heightened when you spend a summer in Greenwich with Rachel and her family." – Pamela Klinger-Horn, Valley Bookseller
