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About
As she did in the bestselling novel A Friend of the Family, Lauren Grodstein has written another provocative morality tale, this time dissecting the permeable line between faith and doubt.
College professor Andy Waite is picking up the pieces of a shattered life. Between his research in evolutionary biology and caring for his young daughters, his days are reassurringly safe, if a bit lonely. But when Melissa Potter-charismatic, unpredictable, and devout-asks him to advise her study of intelligent design, he agrees. Suddenly, the world that Andy has fought to rebuild is rocked to its foundations.
"A well-crafted story of wayward souls searching for forgiveness, healing and personal truth." -Family Circle
"Grodstein handles everything with a subtle wit, managing to skewer both the ultraconservative and the ultraliberal without making either seem absolutely wrong . . . Reminiscent of Carolyn Parkhurst's Dogs of Babel." -Booklist
"Finding or losing God proves to be an equally destabilizing tectonic shift, and this novel is full of them . . . Their cumulative force will leave you happily unsteady, and moved." -The Washington Post
"A master storyteller . . . Tackles the tough topics: healing after loss, the relevance and possibility of the divine in our lives, the gilded shackles of academic life, and life in Southern New Jersey-all while always being terrifically entertaining." -*Ben Schrank, author of Love Is a Canoe
"Engrossing . . . You'll likely close the book with a new perspective on faith, justice, mercy, and the difficulty of holding a moral high ground." -Bust
"A novel of ideas and a deeply felt story of love, loss, hope, and the healing powers of forgiveness . . . A provocative, moving story, and a beautifully written one." -Dani Shapiro, author of Devotion
LAUREN GRODSTEIN is the author of six books, including the Washington Post Book of the Year The Explanation for Everything and the New York Times bestselling A Friend of the Family. Her writing has appeared in Elle, the New York Times, Salon.com, and the Washington Post. Her fiction has been recognized by the New York Public Library and Columbia University. She is a professor of English at Rutgers University–Camden, where she teaches in the MFA program in creative writing.
"[Grodstein has] fashioned in her smart, assured third novel, The Explanation for Everything, . . . a gripping tale of a biologist who finds himself approaching midlife and suddenly finding faith . . . Grodstein's real gift is her emotional precision . . . Finding or losing God proves to be an equally destabilizing tectonic shift, and this novel is full of them . . . Their cumulative force will leave you happily unsteady, and moved." -The Washington Post
"Very smart and touching and unexpected." -Tom Perrotta, author of The Leftovers and Little Children
"At once a novel of ideas and a deeply felt story of love, loss, hope, and the healing powers of forgiveness, The Explanation for Everything is a provocative, moving story, and a beautifully written one." -Dani Shapiro, author of Devotion
"Engrossing . . . You'll likely close the book with a new perspective on faith, justice, mercy, and the difficulty of holding a moral high ground." -Bust
"Why do any of us act the way we do? Is it our beliefs or our biology that shapes us? Lauren Grodstein considers this eternal question through the story of Andrew Waite, scientist, father, widower, struggling to raise two daughters, living with the ghost of his wife, facing a test of his faith in science. There are no easy answers here, just the honest complexity of human beings trying their best to be good people. The Explanation for Everything is moving, beautiful, and wonderfully funny." -Victor LaValle, author of The Devil in Silver
"Lauren Grodstein proves herself a master storyteller. The Explanat
College professor Andy Waite is picking up the pieces of a shattered life. Between his research in evolutionary biology and caring for his young daughters, his days are reassurringly safe, if a bit lonely. But when Melissa Potter-charismatic, unpredictable, and devout-asks him to advise her study of intelligent design, he agrees. Suddenly, the world that Andy has fought to rebuild is rocked to its foundations.
"A well-crafted story of wayward souls searching for forgiveness, healing and personal truth." -Family Circle
"Grodstein handles everything with a subtle wit, managing to skewer both the ultraconservative and the ultraliberal without making either seem absolutely wrong . . . Reminiscent of Carolyn Parkhurst's Dogs of Babel." -Booklist
"Finding or losing God proves to be an equally destabilizing tectonic shift, and this novel is full of them . . . Their cumulative force will leave you happily unsteady, and moved." -The Washington Post
"A master storyteller . . . Tackles the tough topics: healing after loss, the relevance and possibility of the divine in our lives, the gilded shackles of academic life, and life in Southern New Jersey-all while always being terrifically entertaining." -*Ben Schrank, author of Love Is a Canoe
"Engrossing . . . You'll likely close the book with a new perspective on faith, justice, mercy, and the difficulty of holding a moral high ground." -Bust
"A novel of ideas and a deeply felt story of love, loss, hope, and the healing powers of forgiveness . . . A provocative, moving story, and a beautifully written one." -Dani Shapiro, author of Devotion
LAUREN GRODSTEIN is the author of six books, including the Washington Post Book of the Year The Explanation for Everything and the New York Times bestselling A Friend of the Family. Her writing has appeared in Elle, the New York Times, Salon.com, and the Washington Post. Her fiction has been recognized by the New York Public Library and Columbia University. She is a professor of English at Rutgers University–Camden, where she teaches in the MFA program in creative writing.
"[Grodstein has] fashioned in her smart, assured third novel, The Explanation for Everything, . . . a gripping tale of a biologist who finds himself approaching midlife and suddenly finding faith . . . Grodstein's real gift is her emotional precision . . . Finding or losing God proves to be an equally destabilizing tectonic shift, and this novel is full of them . . . Their cumulative force will leave you happily unsteady, and moved." -The Washington Post
"Very smart and touching and unexpected." -Tom Perrotta, author of The Leftovers and Little Children
"At once a novel of ideas and a deeply felt story of love, loss, hope, and the healing powers of forgiveness, The Explanation for Everything is a provocative, moving story, and a beautifully written one." -Dani Shapiro, author of Devotion
"Engrossing . . . You'll likely close the book with a new perspective on faith, justice, mercy, and the difficulty of holding a moral high ground." -Bust
"Why do any of us act the way we do? Is it our beliefs or our biology that shapes us? Lauren Grodstein considers this eternal question through the story of Andrew Waite, scientist, father, widower, struggling to raise two daughters, living with the ghost of his wife, facing a test of his faith in science. There are no easy answers here, just the honest complexity of human beings trying their best to be good people. The Explanation for Everything is moving, beautiful, and wonderfully funny." -Victor LaValle, author of The Devil in Silver
"Lauren Grodstein proves herself a master storyteller. The Explanat