Charmingly irreverent and relatable, this is a vibrant and uplifting story about three imperfect humans each at a time of change in their lives, when absolutely nothing feels right. A debut novel about forgiveness and love, coupled with a healthy dose of adventure and the particular kind of crazy that only family can deliver.
GOOD EGGS
by Rebecca Hardiman
Atria, publication date TBD
When Kevin Gogarty’s irrepressible 83-year-old mum Millie is caught shoplifting yet again, he’s got no choice but to hire a caretaker to look after her, despite her protestations about losing her independence. Kevin is already at his wits’ end since losing his job over a year ago, and he’s grown increasingly restless and resentful that the responsibilities of managing children and home have fallen on him, while his wife is off pursuing her demanding career. Their wayward 16-year-old daughter Aideen feels deeply misunderstood, but her fraught relationships with just about everyone lead to her being sent quite miserably off to boarding school, where her troubles only escalate. Into the Gogartys’ calamitous world steps Sylvia Phenning, a brash American home aide who quickly earns Millie’s trust but unfortunately isn’t all she appears to be. Her deceptions will lead to the greatest Gogarty crisis yet, including two family members going AWOL on an international adventure. But what tears these family members apart ultimately brings them back together, better than ever before. Set primarily in Dublin and told from the points-of-view of its three main characters, GOOD EGGS is a funny and heartfelt study in self-determination, the notion that it’s never too late to start living, and the unique redemption that family, despite its maddening flaws, can offer. Fans of A Man Called Ove, Where’d You Go Bernadette, and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine will appreciate Rebecca Hardiman’s buoyant voice-driven narrative style and admire the astute observations of human nature they’ll find on every page of GOOD EGGS.
Rebecca Hardiman is a dual Irish-American citizen, raised by an Irish mom, who has lived in Dublin and attended boarding school there as a teenager. She currently lives in New Jersey. She has been an editor at magazines including In Style, Movieline, and People en Español, and has written for various other publications. GOOD EGGS is her first novel.
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Charlie Berg has a weak heart and the sensitive nose of a dog. The only thing his parents taught him as a child was that a couple of artists should never have children. It is the early 1990s, Charlie wants to move out and stop being the family jackass who keeps everything together while mother is at the theatre unsettling the world and father sitting around stoned for weeks in recording studios. The job at the lighthouse is within his grasp – and then everything gets out of hand: While out hunting with Granddad, not only is the stag shot at but Granddad as well. And what about Charlie’s secret big love, Mayra, his video pen pal in Mexico? Doesn’t have anything better to do than marry that crook Ramón …
Rügen 1924. There it is on the promenade of Binz, white and magnificent – the impressive Grand Hotel belonging to the von Plesow family. A lot has happened here, and things have not always been easy, but Bernadette is proud of her hotel, the best in town. It was here that she brought up her children: the quiet Alexander, who one day will inherit the Grand Hotel; Josephine, the rebellious artist who is still trying to find her place in life; Constantin, always on the go, who already has his own hotel in Berlin, the Astor. Things could hardly be better. Of course, there is the odd quarrel with her daughter, and something seems to be not quite right with the otherwise cheerful maid Marie – but all this is nothing compared to what the unannounced visit of a man could lead to who threatens Bernadette he will disclose her darkest secret …
The day Sam Waxworth arrives in New York to write for the Interviewer, a street-corner preacher declares that the world is coming to an end. A data journalist and recent media celebrity―he correctly forecasted every outcome of the 2008 election―Sam knows a few things about predicting the future. But when projection meets reality, things turn complicated. Sam’s assigned a profile of disgraced political columnist Frank Doyle, a liberal lion turned neocon Iraq-war apologist and author of the great works of baseball lore that first sparked Sam’s love of the game (books he now views as childish myth-making to be crushed with his empirical hammer). But Doyle is convincing in person, charming and intelligent. Sam takes a liking to him, and to his daughter, Margo, with whom Sam becomes involved―just as his wife, Lucy, arrives from Wisconsin. It’s a precarious moment for the Doyle family. Kit, the matriarch, lost her investment bank to the financial crisis; Eddie, their son, hasn’t been the same since his second combat tour in Iraq; Eddie’s best friend from childhood, the fantastically successful hedge funder Justin Price, is starting to see cracks in his spotless public image. So while the end of the world might not be arriving, Beha’s characters appear to be headed for apocalypses of their own making.