The Cave Dwellers

The Cave Dwellers by Christina McDowell, published by Simon and Schuster on May 25, 2021, is a 352-page exploration of the hidden lives of Washington, DC’s elite. This novel delves into the lives of families deemed worthy of inclusion in the exclusive Green Book, a diary linked to the city’s aristocratic lineage. Set against the backdrop of Georgetown, Kalorama, and Capitol Hill, it reveals the dynamics of power and privilege among those who inhabit this high society, often turning a blind eye to the changing world around them.
Readers will find a narrative that intertwines social satire with psychological insights, examining the consequences of a brutal crime that shakes the foundations of these families’ legacies. The story highlights the complexities of wealth and status, as well as the moral dilemmas faced by its characters. Through its vivid portrayal of the lives behind closed doors, The Cave Dwellers invites reflection on the intersection of privilege and societal change, making it a thought-provoking addition to contemporary literary fiction.
Official synopsis Publisher
This “delicious take on the one percent in our nation’s capital” (Town & Country) and clever combination of The Bonfire of the Vanities and The Nest explores what Washington, DC’s high society members do behind the closed doors of their stately homes.
They are the families considered worthy of a listing in the exclusive Green Book—a discriminative diary created by the niece of Edith Roosevelt’s social secretary. Their aristocratic bloodlines are woven into the very fabric of Washington—generation after generation. Their old money and manner lurk through the cobblestone streets of Georgetown, Kalorama, and Capitol Hill. They only socialize within their inner circle, turning a blind eye to those who come and go on the political merry-go-round. These parents and their children live in gilded existences of power and privilege.
But what they have failed to understand is that the world is changing. And when the family of one of their own is held hostage and brutally murdered, everything about their legacy is called into question in this unputdownable novel that “combines social satire with moral outrage to offer a masterfully crafted, absorbing read that can simply entertain on one level and provoke reasoned discourse on another” (Booklist, starred review).
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