{"product_id":"the-alternatives-isbn-9780593545010","title":"The Alternatives","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e“A \u003c\/b\u003ebold, beautiful, complex novel, and I can’t wait to read what Hughes writes next. She, too, is an unstoppable force.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A tale about sisterhood, a novel of ideas, a chronicle of our collective follies, a requiem for our agonizing species, \u003ci\u003eThe Alternatives\u003c\/i\u003e unfolds in a prose full of gorgeous surprises and glows with intelligence, compassion, and beauty.”  —Hernan Diaz\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom the writer Anthony Doerr calls “a massive talent,” the story of four brilliant Irish sisters, orphaned in childhood, who scramble to reconnect when the oldest disappears into the Irish countryside\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Flattery sisters were plunged prematurely into adulthood when their parents died in tragic circumstances. Now in their thirties—all single, all with PhDs—they are each attempting to do meaningful work in a rapidly foundering world. The four lead disparate, distanced lives, from classrooms in Connecticut to ritzy catering gigs in London’s Notting Hill, until one day their oldest sister, a geologist haunted by a terrible awareness of the earth’s future, abruptly vanishes from her work and home. Together for the first time in years, the Flatterys descend on the Irish countryside in search of a sister who doesn’t want to be found. Sheltered in a derelict bungalow, they reach into their common past, confronting both old wounds and a desperately uncertain future. Warm, fiercely witty, and unexpectedly hopeful, \u003ci\u003eThe Alternatives \u003c\/i\u003eis an unforgettable portrait of a family perched on our collective precipice, told by one of Ireland’s most gifted storytellers.\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eThe Alternatives\u003c\/i\u003e:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Exuberant. . . . to categorize this novel into a tidy box undermines the daring genius of its author. . . . Hughes’s prose is like a virtuosic jazz number — loose, free and surprising. . . . A bold, beautiful, complex novel.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The novel begins with alternating chapters that sharply delve into each woman’s life and work in brief, fascinating lectures on subjects from land subsidence to locavorism. . . . Ultimately \u003ci\u003eThe Alternatives\u003c\/i\u003e is concerned with the duties of caring for the planet and one’s loved ones. The fact that these responsibilities are often in conflict makes this lively novel’s sense of confusion feel well-earned.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e“The Alternatives\u003c\/i\u003e contains multitudes. Its mysteries and complexities reward a second reading. . . [its] ending is a stunner. And Olwen, Maeve, Nell and Rhona make it unforgettable.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eStar Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e“\u003c\/i\u003eI burned through Caoilinn Hughes's book, \u003ci\u003eThe Alternatives.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eAndrew Limbong, NPR's Book of the Day \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e “At the center of the novel is a question: what does it mean to center one’s work on slowing our collective hurtling toward destruction?. . . . This is a powerful and timely novel.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBrooklyn Rail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Told with biting wit and warmhearted insight, \u003ci\u003eThe Alternatives \u003c\/i\u003eby award-winning Irish author Caoilinn Hughes reflects our collective yearning to make sense of our lives.” \u003cb\u003e—Real Simple\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e“Funny, intelligent, tenderhearted, and aching. . . . Hughes is one of the greatest writers of dialogue at work today. She is peerless in her ability to develop and communicate complex ideas through witty banter and possesses remarkable range in her ability to write across various points of view. Her sentences are to be relished. . . . We need more writers like Hughes.” \u003cb\u003e—Electric Literature\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Intelligent, impassioned, and wholly satisfying.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Simply brilliant. . . . The dynamics of the sisters’ interactions and the easy way they anticipate each others’ needs while slipping into decades-old roles are the novel's highlights.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBooklist \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Hughes shines.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Each sister’s voice is clear, purposeful, realistic and hopeful. . . . [the novel] becomes even more engaging as their stories overlap, growing increasingly complex and intertwined. . . . Hughes balances ordinary details with those that surprise and raise the stakes, keeping the reader hooked.”\u003cb\u003e \u003cb\u003e—BookPage\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Intriguing. . . .  Readers will enjoy this story about the need for family, independence, and support.” \u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e“Yet\u003c\/i\u003e another example of [Hughes’s] gift for illuminating the dark places in the lives of dysfunctional, but deeply sympathetic, families. . . . [A] bighearted, wise, and frequently sharply funny novel.” \u003cb\u003e—Shelf Awareness\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“I wish I knew how Caoilinn Hughes has managed to write a book of such depth and gravity that is also so gripping and relentlessly funny. A tale about sisterhood, a novel of ideas, a chronicle of our collective follies, a requiem for our agonizing species, \u003ci\u003eThe Alternatives\u003c\/i\u003e unfolds in a prose full of gorgeous surprises and glows with intelligence, compassion, and beauty.”  \u003cb\u003e—Hernan Diaz, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of \u003ci\u003eTrust\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Caoilinn Hughes is one of the most intelligent, surprising, and delightful writers around. \u003ci\u003eThe Alternatives\u003c\/i\u003e made me laugh, cry, and think. Any one of the Flattery sisters would have made a compelling story; together they are glorious, as is this novel.”  —\u003cb\u003eLouise Kennedy, author of \u003ci\u003eTrespasses\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Caoilinn Hughes’s beautiful new novel uses a fairy-tale premise—four sisters, orphaned in their youth, each brilliant in her own way—to explore some of the most pressing issues of our time: the environment, politics, and how to live in the world. \u003ci\u003eThe Alternatives\u003c\/i\u003e is both a book of ideas and a gripping read, formally audacious yet deeply humane. Superb.”   —\u003cb\u003eRumaan Alam, author of \u003ci\u003eLeave the World Behind\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“\u003ci\u003eThe Alternative\u003c\/i\u003es is fizzy, brainy, and brilliant, always at the service of a drama of great emotional power. Caoilinn Hughes is an extraordinarily gifted writer.” \u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Joseph O’Neill, author of Netherland and The Dog\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Hughes’s elegiac romp into our collective crises erupts in gorgeous language and sizzles with wit, yet is undergirded by pathos. A shapeshifter of a writer, she can draw any character, any foible with crystalline precision.” —\u003cb\u003eDiane Cook, author of \u003ci\u003eThe New Wilderness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eCaoilinn Hughes \u003c\/b\u003eis the author of \u003ci\u003eOrchid \u0026amp; the Wasp, \u003c\/i\u003ewhich won the Collyer Bristow Prize and was longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award, and \u003ci\u003eThe Wild Laughter\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003ewhich\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003ewon the Royal Society of Literature’s Encore Award and was longlisted for the International Dylan Thomas Prize. She was recently the Oscar Wilde Centre Writer Fellow at Trinity College Dublin, and is now a Cullman Fellow at New York Public Library.","brand":"Riverhead Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48233615196389,"sku":"NP9780593545010","price":19.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780593545010.jpg?v=1767738054","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/the-alternatives-isbn-9780593545010","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}