It's been 100 years since tragedy struck the rolling woods around Fleur-de-Lys, one of dozens of Gilded Age estates dotting the western Massachusetts town of Gable. In Gable, they both begrudge and venerate their past, and even now that health spas and corporate yoga retreats have replaced the mansions of a bygone era, the ghosts of yesteryear linger. Growing up there means navigating those ghosts, and the even more pernicious pitfalls of adolescence, until you're lucky enough to find your footing. Unless you're not.
In The Duration, Boston attorney Pete Johansson finds himself reuniting in Gable with his troubled childhood pal Chickie, who has returned to the wintry town of their youth determined to solve past mysteries and right the wrongs he can't seem to shake. Despite-or because of-his best intentions, Pete is drawn reluctantly into Chick's reckless orbit, straining a bedrock friendship and putting them both at risk.
"The bonds of childhood friendship are sorely tested in this quirky debut novel. Boston lawyer Pete Johansson...hears from his best friend since they were toddlers...for the first time in years.... Interspersed chapters detail events from the men's teen years...in a novel that's as appealing as it is eccentric... Fromm mixes his infectious offbeat humor with a serious undertone."
Booklist
"Fromm's fiction debut blends a zany adventure with a low-key exploration of nostalgia. Pete Johansson...returns to the western Massachusetts town of Gable, where he grew up, at the request of his childhood druggie pal, Philip 'Chickie' Benecik. Fromm depicts a sad tenderness between men with common histories, afraid to grow, and trapped into thinking their best moments are in the past."
Publishers Weekly
"In Pete, Fromm has created both a fascinating character and an intriguing story teller with a real flair for narrative. His style is both quirky and imaginative...his prose style reflects his originality. The Duration may be Fromm's first novel, but it reads like the work of an old hand, a professional who knows what he's doing."
