New York, New York

by Elizabeth Hawes

Eleven connected stories set in Florida - two of them from The New Yorker - that trace the life of Dan Foley from adolescence to fatherhood to divorce to new beginnings. We see him at age twelve initiated into his family's undertaking business, forced to help remove a corpse from a massive mud slide, as his father is, for the first time, clearly revealed to him ... We see him as husband, father and successful architect, replaying the disappointments of the last few years. And tracing his luck - his bad luck - back to the day when, driving with his pregnant wife, he suddenly, to his extreme horror, hits and kills a fox. And, ultimately, we see him alone, separated from his wife and family, meeting his children on weekends in malls he has designed, watching from a distance as his wife tries to complete the home improvement projects he never finished - and starting on a new life, in a new town ... An immensely talented writer - an exciting. Debut.