The Book of Life

Stuart Nadler

The Book of Life

A brilliant debut about faith, family, grief, love, temptation and redemption from a striking and original American voice.

He was not the sort of man to do such a thing. This was something he knew, unquestionably, deep in his heart. If ever he was to turn into one of these men, he would not do it with the daughter of his best friend, however terrific she looked in her skirt and blouse, and then, later, without her skirt and blouse.

In The Book of Life, as in life, moments of unsettling tension and grief sit alongside those of humour and happiness. There are uncompromisingly awkward situations, there are tales of broken bonds and the struggle for redemption, and there are huge betrayals – including the man who sleeps with his best friend’s daughter.

Stuart Nadler is a fresh voice, a writer in the great American tradition, but one who emerges from the shadows – of Updike, of Bellow, of Cheever – and stakes his own bold and exciting claim.

Kris Doyle
 

Stuart Nadler recommends his favourite short stories. Stuart's own short story collection, The Book of Life, shows us at our most vulnerable and our most miraculous. It shows moments of grief and betrayal as well as humour and happiness, the best of people and the worst. It shows us life. His novel, Wise Men, is available from 28th March 2013.

We're so delighted Picador author Stuart Nadler (The Book of Life) has been named as one of America's 5 Under 35. The programme honours five young fiction writers selected by past National Book Award winners.