The Great Wide Open
The Great Wide Open by Douglas Kennedy, published by Arrow Books in 2019, is a literary fiction work that spans 592 pages. Set in the 1980s, the narrative follows Alice Burns, a young book editor immersed in a manuscript that reflects the complexities of family life. As she grapples with her own family’s disintegration, Alice contemplates the origins of sadness and the notion that unhappiness may be a choice.
Readers will find a rich exploration of Alice’s journey through high school, first love, and the challenges of sexism at an elite college, alongside her experiences in 1970s Ireland. The story also delves into the intricate lives of her parents and brothers, revealing how their personal narratives are shaped by the deceptions they create. The Great Wide Open presents an ambitious saga that resonates with themes of family dynamics and the emotional turmoil they can evoke.
Official synopsis Publisher
‘Accomplished…a strangely mesmerising effect…absolutely excellent’
New Statesman
New York, 1980s
Alice Burns – a young book editor – is deep into a manuscript about the morass of family life. The observations within resonate, perhaps, because she has just watched her own family implode.
As she reads she wonders- When did the sadness start? And could it be that unhappiness is a choice?
Thus begins a great American epic which follows Alice as she navigates high school, first love and sexism at an elite college, a spell in 1970s Ireland, and a tragedy that sends her stateside as the US embraces a cowboy actor named Reagan.
But it is also the tale of her endlessly complex parents and brothers – how their destinies are written by the lies they tell themselves and others.
The Great Wide Open is an immensely ambitious and compulsive saga; a novel which will speak volumes to anyone who has marvelled at that pain that can only be caused by family itself.
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