The Hundred-Year House

A dazzlingly original new novel for readers of Where’d You Go, Bernadette, from the acclaimed author of The Borrower   Rebecca Makkai is one of the most ad­mired young fiction writers in America. Her short fiction was selected for The Best American Short Stories for four years running, and Richard Russo has called her “as sneakily ambitious as she is unpreten­tious . . . a writer to watch.”   Now, Makkai returns with an inge­nious novel set at a historic estate that once housed an arts colony. Doug, the husband of the estate’s heir, desperately needs the colony files to get his stalled academic ca­reer back on track. But what he discovers when he finally gets his hands on them is more than he bargained for. Doug may never learn the house’s secrets, but the reader will, as Makkai leads us on a thrill­ing journey into the past of this eccentric family.   With an intelligence and wit reminis­cent of Maria Semple, and a daring nar­rative approach that brings to mind Kate Atkinson and David Mitchell, Rebecca Makkai has crafted an unforgettable novel about identity, fate, and the incredible sur­prises life can offer.