The first collection of short fiction from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jeffrey Eugenides
Jeffrey Eugenides’s bestselling novels have shown him to be an astute observer of the crises of adolescence, self-discovery, family love, and what it means to be American in our times. The stories in “Fresh Complaint” explore equally rich—and intriguing—territory. Ranging from the bitingly reproductive antics of “Baster” to the dreamy, moving account of a young traveler’s search for enlightenment in “Air Mail” (selected by Annie Proulx for Best American Short Stories), this collection presents characters in the midst of personal and national emergencies. We meet a failed poet who, envious of other people’s wealth during the real-estate bubble, becomes an embezzler; a clavichordist whose dreams of art founder under the obligations of marriage and fatherhood; and, in “Fresh Complaint,” a high school student whose wish to escape the strictures of her immigrant family lead her to a drastic decision that upends the life of a middle-aged British physicist. Narratively compelling, beautifully written, and packed with a density of ideas despite their fluid grace, these stories chart the development and maturation of a major American writer.
Below is a list of the tour locations and links to the individual event listings. Check back for updated information about upcoming events.
10/2/17 – Brooklyn, NY
St. Joseph’s College, presented by Greenlight Bookstore
245 Clinton Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205
In conversation with Ruth Franklin
7:30 p.m.
10/3/17 – Washington, D.C.
St. Paul’s Church, presented by Politics and Prose
4900 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20008
7:00 p.m.
Tickets and more information . . .
10/4/17 – Jersey City, NJ
Word Bookstore
123 Newark Avenue
Jersey City, NJ 07302
In conversation with Emma Cline
7:30 p.m.
10/5/17 – Philadelphia, PA
Parkway Central Library, presented by Free Library of Philadelphia
1901 Vine Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
7:30 p.m.
10/6/17 – Cambridge, MA
First Parish Church, presented by Harvard Book Store
1446 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
7:00 p.m.
10/7/17 – Kalamazoo, MI
Dalton Theater, Kalamazoo College, presented by Bookbug
139 Thompson Street
Kalamazoo, MI 49006
7:00 p.m.
Tickets and more information . . .
10/8/17 – Ann Arbor, MI
Literati at the Rogel Ballroom
University of Michigan Union
530 South State Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
10/19/17 – New York, NY
92nd Street Y
1395 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10128
7:00 p.m.
11/3/17 – Houston, TX
Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church
Presented by Brazos Bookstore
6221 Main Street
Houston, TX 77030
7:00 p.m.
11/4/17 – Austin, TX
Texas Book Festival
1100 Congress Avenue
Austin, TX 78701
In conversation with Claire Messud
Tickets and more information . . .
11/9/17 – San Francisco, CA
Nourse Theater, presented by City Arts & Lectures
275 Hayes Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
7:30 p.m.
In conversation with Steven Winn
Tickets and more information . . .
11/10/17 – Seattle, WA
Elliott Bay Book Company with support from the Seattle Public Library
1111 Harvard Avenue (at Union)
Seattle, WA 98122
7:00 p.m.
In conversation with Mary Ann Gwinn
Free/no tickets required
Jeffrey Eugenides was born in Detroit and attended Brown and Stanford Universities. His first novel, The Virgin Suicides, was published by FSG to great acclaim in 1993, and he has received numerous awards for his work. In 2003, he received the Pulitzer Prize for his novel Middlesex (FSG, 2002), which was also a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, and France’s Prix Médicis. The Marriage Plot (FSG, 2011) was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and won both the Prix Fitzgerald and the Madame Figaro Literary Prize. Eugenides is a professor of creative writing in the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton.