The Wanting Life
Mark Rader’s The Wanting Life, published by Unnamed Press in 2020, is a literary work that explores complex family dynamics and moral dilemmas. Set against the backdrop of Rome, Cape Cod, and Wisconsin during the summer of 2009 and spring of 1970, the narrative follows three members of the Novak family: Father Paul, a closeted gay Catholic priest facing terminal illness; Britta, his sister grappling with loss; and Maura, Britta’s daughter caught between family obligations and a passionate love. This edition spans 295 pages and is presented in English.
Readers will find a profound meditation on the interplay of secrets, loyalty, and the search for meaning within familial relationships. The Wanting Life delves into themes of faith and intimacy, offering a nuanced portrayal of its characters’ struggles and choices. The book’s exploration of LGBTQ+ identities and family life adds depth to its narrative, making it a significant contribution to contemporary fiction.
Official synopsis Publisher
- SELECTED AS A TOP 10 DEBUT BY THE AMERICAN BOOKSELLERS’ ASSOCIATION
- A GREAT GROUP READS 2020 BOOK CLUB SELECTION
- 2021 HONORED AUTHOR, WISCONSIN LITERARY COUNCIL
“Mark Rader’s The Wanting Life is somehow both quiet and deeply unsettling. A profound meditation on what we owe others and also ourselves, it balances the pleasure of getting to know a handful of vivid characters with the disconcerting awareness that their moral choices are, seeming by design, as impossible as our own.” ―Richard Russo, the Pulitzer-Prize-winning author of Empire Falls and Nobody’s Fool
Set in Rome, Cape Cod, and Wisconsin over the course of the summer of 2009, and Rome during the spring of 1970, The Wanting Life tells the intertwined story of three members of the Novak family: Father Paul, a closeted gay Catholic priest who’s dying of cancer and has secrets he desperately wants to share; Britta, his self-destructive sister and caretaker, who’s struggling to find meaning in a world without her beloved husband; and Maura, Britta’s daughter–a thirty-nine-year-old artist who’s facing a choice between her husband and two children, or the man she believes is her one, true love.
Featuring one of most unconventional love stories you’ll read this year, The Wanting Life is both a compulsively readable family drama about the toll that secrets and loyalty can take on us, and a gorgeous meditation on the comforts (and limits) of faith and intimacy that calls to mind novels like Marilynne Robinson’s Home, Alice McDermott’s Charming Billy, and Julian Barnes’ The Sense of an Ending.
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