A Reunion of Ghosts: A Novel

A NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD FINALIST

“The Alter sisters are mordant, wry, and crystalline in wit and vision; it is a tremendous pleasure to rocket through generations of their family histories with them.” —Lauren Groff, New York Timesbestselling author of Fates and Furies, The Monsters of Templeton, and Arcadia

In the waning days of 1999, the last of the Alters—three damaged but wisecracking sisters who share an apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side—decide it’s time to close the circle of the family curse by taking their own lives. But first, Lady, Vee, and Delph must explain the origins of that curse and how it has manifested throughout the preceding generations. Unspooling threads of history, personal memory, and family lore, they weave a mesmerizing account that stretches back a century to their great-grandfather, a brilliant scientist whose professional triumph became the terrible legacy that defines them. A suicide note crafted by three bright, funny women, A Reunion of Ghosts is the final chapter of a saga lifetimes in the making—one that is inexorably intertwined with the story of the twentieth century itself.

“Mitchell explores the mixed-blessing bonds of family with wry wit. This original tale is black comedy at its best.”—People Book of the Week

“A rich portrait of a complicated family, at turns violent and hilarious.”—Emma Straub, New York Timesbestselling author

A NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD FINALIST

“The Alter sisters are mordant, wry, and crystalline in wit and vision; it is a tremendous pleasure to rocket through generations of their family histories with them.” —Lauren Groff, New York Timesbestselling author of Fates and Furies, The Monsters of Templeton, and Arcadia

In the waning days of 1999, the last of the Alters—three damaged but wisecracking sisters who share an apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side—decide it’s time to close the circle of the family curse by taking their own lives. But first, Lady, Vee, and Delph must explain the origins of that curse and how it has manifested throughout the preceding generations. Unspooling threads of history, personal memory, and family lore, they weave a mesmerizing account that stretches back a century to their great-grandfather, a brilliant scientist whose professional triumph became the terrible legacy that defines them. A suicide note crafted by three bright, funny women, A Reunion of Ghosts is the final chapter of a saga lifetimes in the making—one that is inexorably intertwined with the story of the twentieth century itself.

“Mitchell explores the mixed-blessing bonds of family with wry wit. This original tale is black comedy at its best.”—People Book of the Week

“A rich portrait of a complicated family, at turns violent and hilarious.”—Emma Straub, New York Timesbestselling author

“A Reunion of Ghosts is a darkly comic, multigenerational meditation on a family curse.… [It] balances gallows humor with the seriousness of the sisters’ history and is a memorable and meticulous exploration of personal responsibility and borrowed guilt.” - Los Angeles Times

“Dark but comedic.… The wit of the three sisters alone will inspire you as much as the warming weather outside.” - Buzzfeed, “16 Awesome New Books To Read This Spring”

“The novel is written like a long, group suicide note filled with personal and family revelations—brutally funny ones.” - New York Post

“[A] quirky, profound, tragic, morbidly comical family saga.” - Buffalo News

“Judith Claire Mitchell’s splendidly dark and comic novel A Reunion of Ghosts. . . is a very funny book but it is also tender, sombre and thought-provoking.” - Financial Times

“The Alter sisters are convinced they’re cursed: Their great-grand-father’s inventions led to mass killings in two world wars, and they’ve lost multiple relatives to suicide. So Lady, Delph and Vee—middle-aged, Jewish and living in their family apartment in Manhattan—decide to exit the world together. Laughing yet? It’s hardly an amusing premise, but Mitchell explores the mixed-blessing bonds of family with wry wit. This original tale is black comedy at its best.” - People Book of the Week

“Mitchell explores the mixed-blessing bonds of family with wry wit. This original tale is black comedy at its best.” - People Book of the Week

“What if the man who invented chemical weapons was also a grandfather, and what if his great-grandchildren grew up to be three hilarious, introverted, deeply-haunted sisters? And what if those sisters co-wrote a fascinating, funny, and deeply sad 350-page suicide note? Then you’d have A Reunion of Ghosts. This is a triumphant, beautiful, and devastating novel about coincidences, family, and the sins of our fathers.” - Anthony Doerr, New York Times bestselling author of All The Light We Cannot See

“This is a triumphant, beautiful, and devastating novel about coincidences, family, and the sins of our fathers.” - Anthony Doerr, New York Times bestselling author of All The Light We Cannot See

“The Alter sisters are mordant, wry and crystalline in wit and vision; it is a tremendous pleasure to rocket through generations of their family histories with them. Judith Claire Mitchell understands what’s at the marrow of our funny bones: that humor lives in darkness, that our families are our curses and our blessings, that great pain can beget great warmth and love.” - Lauren Groff, New York Times bestselling author of The Monsters of Templeton and Arcadia

“Judith Claire Mitchell understands what’s at the marrow of our funny bones: that humor lives in darkness, that our families are our curses and our blessings, that great pain can beget great warmth and love.” - Lauren Groff, New York Times bestselling author of The Monsters of Templeton and Arcadia

“What’s so funny about three sisters bent on committing suicide? Plenty, in the imagination of Judith Claire Mitchell…. Darkly witty.” - Dallas Morning News

“Mitchell’s plot, which twists in unexpected but believable ways and opens up just when it seems as if it can only close in, is thoroughly satisfying, but it’s the tone of her novel—that ability to savor joy and sorrow at the same time—that makes it remarkable.” - Columbus Dispatch

“Mitchell’s masterful family saga…captures the agony and ecstasy (but mostly agony) with deep empathy and profound wit. For the Alters, life has been a seemingly endless series of tragedies; for us, the tragedy is that this stunning novel inevitably comes to an end.” - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“For the Alter sisters, living with the guilt of the generations, there is only one way out…. This novel is a carefully crafted, thought-provoking examination of history past and present as seen through the eyes of a complex yet humble family.” - Booklist

“My favourite novel of the year so far…. A literary mash-up of The Virgin Suicides and Grey Gardens. I wouldn’t be surprised if Wes Anderson and Sofia Coppola are slugging it out for the film rights already.” - Sam Baker, Harper's Bazaar online (UK)

“Mitchell’s triumphant second novel explores love, identity, and the burdens of history in coruscating, darkly comic prose…. Moving nimbly through time and balancing her weightier themes with the sharply funny, fiercely unsentimental perspectives of her three protagonists… [it] is poignant and pulsing with life force.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A clever, modern tale that…hearkens back to…a host of unusual, lively memorable characters.… Darkly humorous.” - Library Journal

“A rich portrait of a complicated family, at turns violent and hilarious, shot through with love and death and the scars that reappear generation after generation.” - Emma Straub, New York Times bestselling author of The Vacationers

“Three middle-aged sisters collaborating on a memoir that’s meant to double as their collective suicide note may not sound like a hilarious premise for a novel, but Mitchell’s masterful family saga is as funny as it is aching…. Moving seamlessly between the past and the present… it captures the agony and ecstasy (but mostly agony) with deep empathy and profound wit. For the Alters, life has been a seemingly endless series of tragedies; for us, the tragedy is that this stunning novel inevitably comes to an end.” - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)