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Loading... Among the Ten Thousand Things (2015)by Julia Pierpont"Jack Shanley is a well-known New York artist, charming and vain, who doesn't mean to plunge his family into crisis. His wife Deb gladly left behind a difficult career as a dancer to raise the two children she adores. In the ensuing years, she has mostly avoided coming face-to-face with the weaknesses of the man she married. But then an anonymously sent package arrives in the mail: a cardboard box containing sheaves of printed emails chronicling Jack's secret life. The package is addressed to Deb, but it's delivered into the wrong hands: her children's"--Dust jacket flap. 12 alternates | English | Primary description for language | score: 60 Fiction.
Literature.
HTML:NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE AND THE HUFFINGTON POST • Features an exclusive conversation between Julia Pierpont and Lena Dunham For fans of Jennifer Egan, Jonathan Franzen, Lorrie Moore, and Curtis Sittenfeld, Among the Ten Thousand Things is a dazzling first novel, a portrait of an American family on the cusp of irrevocable change, and a startlingly original story of love and time lost. Jack Shanley is a well-known New York artist, charming and vain, who doesn’t mean to plunge his family into crisis. His wife, Deb, gladly left behind a difficult career as a dancer to raise the two children she adores. In the ensuing years, she has mostly avoided coming face-to-face with the weaknesses of the man she married. But then an anonymously sent package arrives in the mail: a cardboard box containing sheaves of printed emails chronicling Jack’s secret life. The package is addressed to Deb, but it’s delivered into the wrong hands: her children’s. With this vertiginous opening begins a debut that is by turns funny, wise, and indescribably moving. As the Shanleys spin apart into separate orbits, leaving New York in an attempt to regain their bearings, fifteen-year-old Simon feels the allure of adult freedoms for the first time, while eleven-year-old Kay wanders precariously into a grown-up world she can’t possibly understand. Writing with extraordinary precision, humor, and beauty, Julia Pierpont has crafted a timeless, hugely enjoyable novel about the bonds of family life—their brittleness, and their resilience. Praise for Among the Ten Thousand Things “A luscious, smart summer novel . . . by a blazingly talented young author.”—The New York Times Book Review “This book is one of the funniest, and most emotionally honest, I’ve read in a long time.”—Jonathan Safran Foer “Obsessively compelling . . . emotionally sophisticated . . . Among the Ten Thousand Things rises above [other novels] for its imagined structure, sentence-by-sentence punch, and pure humanity.”—Vanity Fair “Gripping . . . Pierpont brings this family of four to life in sharply observed detail. . . . An acute observer of social comedy, Ms. Pierpont has a keen eye for the absurd.”—The Wall Street Journal “Pierpont’s language is heart-stopping. . . . Between Pierpont’s literary finesse and her captivating characters, [Among the Ten Thousand Things] reads like a page-turner.”—Entertainment Weekly (grade: A) “A twisty, gripping story—that packs an emotional wallop.”—O: The Oprah Magazine “There are going to be as many ingenious twists and turns in this literary novel as there are in a top-notch work of suspense like Gone Girl.”—Maureen Corrigan, NPR’s Fresh Air “Tender, delicately perceptive . . . Pierpont’s voice is wry and confident, and she is a fine anthropologist of New York life.”—The Washington Post “Pierpont displays a precocious gift for language and observation. . . . She captures the minutiae of loneliness that pushes us away from each other and sometimes brings us back.”—San Francisco Chronicle. 30 alternates | English | score: 55 A former ballet dancer struggles to protect her children before receiving an anonymous package revealing her weak artist husband's infidelities, a discovery that leads to a difficult breakup during a New York summer. English | score: 40 Fiction.
Literature.
HTML:"A luscious, smart summer novel . . . about a family blown apart and yet still painfully tethered together, written by a blazingly talented young author whose prose is so assured and whose observations are so precise and deeply felt that it's almost an insult to bring up her age. . . . [Julia] Pierpont illustrates how hard it can be to grow up, at any age--just one of the many reasons Among the Ten Thousand Things is such an impressive debut."--Helen Schulman, The New York Times Book Review "[An] excellent, insightful first novel . . . a gripping portrait of the disintegration of the Shanley family . . . Pierpont brings this family of four to life in sharply observed detail. . . . An acute observer of social comedy, Ms. Pierpont has a keen eye for the absurd."--Moira Hodgson, The Wall Street Journal "Pierpont's language is heart-stopping. In one scene, with her characters suspended in emotional turmoil, she pauses to describe their empty house. There's even a sparse, poetic interlude in the middle of the book that skips across the family's lives for decades. . . . Then she rewinds the decades and picks up where she left off. It's the kind of structural risk that shouldn't work, but in her skilled hands it lands beautifully. Technically, of course, this is a domestic drama. But between Pierpont's literary finesse and her captivating characters, it reads like a page-turner. [Grade:] A".
HTML:"What sets Pierpont apart . . . is her storytelling chops. The chapters that follow that dramatic opening make it clear that there are going to be as many ingenious twists and turns in this literary novel as there are in a top-notch work of suspense like Gone Girl. The effect is dizzying: as a reader you feel, as the Shanleys do, that the earth keeps shifting beneath your feet.".
HTML:"[A] tender, delicately perceptive account of one family torn apart by infidelity . . . Pierpont's voice is wry and confident, and she is a fine anthropologist of New York life, especially for those creative types who never quite manage to fit in with cultural expectations."--The Washington Post "Bracing . . . Pierpont's killer ending reveals the long reach of the affair's consequences (sorry, no plot spoilers). Consider this a twisty, gripping story--that packs an emotional wallop."--O: The Oprah Magazine "An emotionally sophisticated, nuanced examination of a splintering Upper West Side New York City family . . . Among the Ten Thousand Things rises above for its imagined structure, sentence-by-sentence punch, and pure humanity. Weaving readers through the New York streets with the Shanleys, and in and out of each of their minds as they try to survive the infidelity that's torn them from the life they've built, Pierpont has written a debut so honest and mature that it will resonate with even the most action-hungry readers--perhaps against reason. Her story is the one we'll be talking about this summer, and well beyond."--Meredith Turits, Vanity Fair "[A] sharp, knowing dissection of an unraveling marriage . . . This is the first novel by Ms. Pierpont, . . . and it shows a remarkably mature understanding of the delicate emotional balances in families--how feelings can flow back and forth like electricity in some kind of zero-sum game--and the subtle, irrational vicissitudes of people's psyches. . . . It is an old story, a crumbling marriage, but Ms. Pierpont gives it fresh insights, making the particular unhappiness (and occasional happiness) of the Shanleys by turns poignant, funny and very sad. . . . The book really comes alive when she gets inside the children's heads and follows them around. Like the best fictional alienated-children-of-New York--Holden Caulfield; the Brooklyn kids in Noah Baumbach's film The Squid and the Whale;.
HTML:For fans of Jennifer Egan, Jonathan Franzen, Lorrie Moore, and Curtis Sittenfeld, Among the Ten Thousand Things is a dazzling first novel, a portrait of an American family on the cusp of irrevocable change, and a startlingly original story of love and time lost. Jack Shanley is a well-known New York artist, charming and vain, who doesn't mean to plunge his family into crisis. His wife, Deb, gladly left behind a difficult career as a dancer to raise the two children she adores. In the ensuing years, she has mostly avoided coming face-to-face with the weaknesses of the man she married. But then an anonymously sent package arrives in the mail: a cardboard box containing sheaves of printed emails chronicling Jack's secret life. The package is addressed to Deb, but it's delivered into the wrong hands: her children's. With this vertiginous opening begins a debut that is by turns funny, wise, and indescribably moving. As the Shanleys spin apart into separate orbits, leaving New York in an attempt to regain their bearings, fifteen-year-old Simon feels the allure of adult freedoms for the first time, while eleven-year-old Kay wanders precariously into a grown-up world she can't possibly understand. Writing with extraordinary precision, humor, and beauty, Julia Pierpont has crafted a timeless, hugely enjoyable novel about the bonds of family life--their brittleness, and their resilience. Praise for Among the Ten Thousand Things "A luscious, smart summer novel . . . about a family blown apart and yet still painfully tethered together, written by a blazingly talented young author whose prose is so assured and whose observations are so precise and deeply felt that it's almost an insult to bring up her age."--Helen Schulman, The New York Times Book Review "[An] excellent, insightful first novel . . . a gripping portrait of the disintegration of the Shanley family . . . Pierpont brings this family of four to life in sharply observed detail. . . . An acute observer of social comedy, Ms. Pierpont has a keen eye for the absurd."--Moira Hodgson, The Wall Street Journal "Pierpont's language is heart-stopping. . . . Technically, of course, this is a domestic drama. But between Pierpont's literary finesse and her captivating characters, it reads like a page-turner. [Grade:] A"--Entertainment Weekly "Tender, delicately perceptive . . . Pierpont's voice is wry and confident, and she is a fine anthropologist of New York life."--The Washington Post "Bracing . . . Pierpont's killer ending reveals the long reach of the affair's consequences (sorry, no plot spoilers). Consider this a twisty, gripping story--that packs an emotional wallop."--O: The Oprah Magazine "A debut so honest and mature that it will resonate with even the most action-hungry readers--perhaps against reason. Her story is the one we'll be talking about this summer, and well beyond."--Meredith Turits, Vanity Fair "Fans of [Virginia] Woolf's insight into the human consciousness . . . will savor Pierpont's acute observation of a family in crisis, her deft pacing and deeply human characterization of each member of the family."--The Huffington Post "Pierpont orchestrates the narrative with verve, telling her story from the perspective of each family member. There are moments of wry hilarity, and of wisdom."--BBC From the Hardcover edition.. 4 alternates | English | score: 38 For fans of Jennifer Egan, Jonathan Franzen, Lorrie Moore, and Curtis Sittenfeld, Among the Ten Thousand Things is a dazzling first novel, a portrait of an American family on the cusp of irrevocable change, and a startlingly original story of love and time lost. Jack Shanley is a well-known New York artist, charming and vain, who doesn't mean to plunge his family into crisis. His wife, Deb, gladly left behind a difficult career as a dancer to raise the two children she adores. In the ensuing years, she has mostly avoided coming face-to-face with the weaknesses of the man she married. But then an anonymously sent package arrives in the mail: a cardboard box containing sheaves of printed emails chronicling Jack's secret life. The package is addressed to Deb, but it's delivered into the wrong hands: her children's. With this vertiginous opening begins a debut that is by turns funny, wise, and indescribably moving. As the Shanleys spin apart into separate orbits, leaving New York in an attempt to regain their bearings, fifteen-year-old Simon feels the allure of adult freedoms for the first time, while eleven-year-old Kay wanders precariously into a grown-up world she can't possibly understand. 3 alternates | English | Description provided by Bowker | score: 19 Fiction.
Literature.
HTML:Advance praise for Among the Ten Thousand Things "This book is among the funniest and most emotionally honest I've read in a long time."--Jonathan Safran Foer "Remarkable . . . Pierpont displays not only wisdom, but real tact as a writer, knowing how much to say, how much to leave out, how much to imply."--Colm TóibÃn "Every page of this gorgeous novel contains such joys that you won't want to stop reading for anything."--J. Courtney Sullivan "A vicious and enchanting portrait of a fragmenting family that will leave you hungry for whatever Julia Pierpont does next."--Courtney Maum "Poignant, surprising, and fiercely intelligent, Among the Ten Thousand Things is about the sturdiness and tremendous delicacy of the bonds between parents and children. Don't miss this powerful debut."--Megan Abbott "Sharply observed and deeply illuminating, Among the Ten Thousand Things marks the beginning of what is sure to be a brilliant career."--Elliott Holt "Why aren't there more first or second or seventh novels like Among the Ten Thousand Things? That's what I asked myself as I read--actually, devoured--Julia Pierpont's debut. My conclusion: Very few writers, at any point in their lives, can produce prose of the sort you'll find here."--Sean Wilsey "Among the Ten Thousand Things succeeds in being both heartbreaking and funny: It's a wry, sly look at a privileged New York upbringing and the ultimate loneliness at the heart of it.". English | score: 8 NATIONAL BESTSELLER * For fans of Jennifer Egan, Jonathan Franzen, Lorrie Moore, and Curtis Sittenfeld, Among the Ten Thousand Things is a dazzling first novel, a portrait of an American family on the cusp of irrevocable change, and a startlingly original story of love and time lost.  Jack Shanley is a well-known New York artist, charming and vain, who doesn't mean to plunge his family into crisis. His wife, Deb, gladly left behind a difficult career as a dancer to raise the two children she adores. In the ensuing years, she has mostly avoided coming face-to-face with the weaknesses of the man she married. But then an anonymously sent package arrives in the mail: a cardboard box containing sheaves of printed emails chronicling Jack's secret life. The package is addressed to Deb, but it's delivered into the wrong hands: her children's.  With this vertiginous opening begins a debut that is by turns funny, wise, and indescribably moving. As the Shanleys spin apart into separate orbits, leaving New York in an attempt to regain their bearings, fifteen-year-old Simon feels the allure of adult freedoms for the first time, while eleven-year-old Kay wanders precariously into a grown-up world she can't possibly understand. Writing with extraordinary precision, humor, and beauty, Julia Pierpont has crafted a timeless, hugely enjoyable novel about the bonds of family life--their brittleness, and their resilience.  Praise for Among the Ten Thousand Things  "A luscious, smart summer novel . . . about a family blown apart and yet still painfully tethered together, written by a blazingly talented young author whose prose is so assured and whose observations are so precise and deeply felt that it's almost an insult to bring up her age."--Helen Schulman, The New York Times Book Review  "[An] excellent, insightful first novel . . . a gripping portrait of the disintegration of the Shanley family . . . Pierpont brings this family of four to life in sharply observed detail. . . . An acute observer of social comedy, Ms. Pierpont has a keen eye for the absurd."--Moira Hodgson, The Wall Street Journal  "Pierpont's language is heart-stopping. . . . Technically, of course, this is a domestic drama. But between Pierpont's literary finesse and her captivating characters, it reads like a page-turner. [Grade:] A"--Entertainment Weekly  "There are going to be as many ingenious twists and turns in this literary novel as there are in a top-notch work of suspense like Gone Girl."--Maureen Corrigan, NPR's Fresh Air "Tender, delicately perceptive . . . Pierpont's voice is wry and confident, and she is a fine anthropologist of New York life."--The Washington Post  "Bracing . . . Pierpont's killer ending reveals the long reach of the affair's consequences (sorry, no plot spoilers). Consider this a twisty, gripping story--that packs an emotional wallop."--O: The Oprah Magazine  "A debut so honest and mature that it will resonate with even the most action-hungry readers--perhaps against reason. Her story is the one we'll be talking about this summer, and well beyond."--Meredith Turits, Vanity Fair  "Pierpont displays a precocious gift for language and observation. . . . She captures the minutiae of loneliness that pushes us away from each other and sometimes brings us back."--San Francisco Chronicle 4 alternates | English | score: 6 Fiction.
Literature.
HTML:Advance praise for Among the Ten Thousand Things "This book is among the funniest and most emotionally honest I've read in a long time."--Jonathan Safran Foer "Remarkable . . . Pierpont displays not only wisdom, but real tact as a writer, knowing how much to say, how much to leave out, how much to imply."--Colm Tóibín "Every page of this gorgeous novel contains such joys that you won't want to stop reading for anything."--J. Courtney Sullivan "A vicious and enchanting portrait of a fragmenting family that will leave you hungry for whatever Julia Pierpont does next."--Courtney Maum "Poignant, surprising, and fiercely intelligent, Among the Ten Thousand Things is about the sturdiness and tremendous delicacy of the bonds between parents and children. Don't miss this powerful debut."--Megan Abbott "Sharply observed and deeply illuminating, Among the Ten Thousand Things marks the beginning of what is sure to be a brilliant career."--Elliott Holt "Why aren't there more first or second or seventh novels like Among the Ten Thousand Things? That's what I asked myself as I read--actually, devoured--Julia Pierpont's debut. My conclusion: Very few writers, at any point in their lives, can produce prose of the sort you'll find here."--Sean Wilsey "Among the Ten Thousand Things succeeds in being both heartbreaking and funny: It's a wry, sly look at a privileged New York upbringing and the ultimate loneliness at the heart of it.". HTML:For fans of Jennifer Egan, Jonathan Franzen, Lorrie Moore, and Curtis Sittenfeld, Among the Ten Thousand Things is a dazzling first novel, a portrait of an American family on the cusp of irrevocable change, and a startlingly original story of love and time lost. Jack Shanley is a well-known New York artist, charming and vain, who doesn't mean to plunge his family into crisis. His wife, Deb, gladly left behind a difficult career as a dancer to raise the two children she adores. In the ensuing years, she has mostly avoided coming face-to-face with the weaknesses of the man she married. But then an anonymously sent package arrives in the mail: a cardboard box containing sheaves of printed emails chronicling Jack's secret life. The package is addressed to Deb, but it's delivered into the wrong hands: her children's. With this vertiginous opening begins a debut that is by turns funny, wise, and indescribably moving. As the Shanleys spin apart into separate orbits, leaving New York in an attempt to regain their bearings, fifteen-year-old Simon feels the allure of adult freedoms for the first time, while eleven-year-old Kay wanders precariously into a grown-up world she can't possibly understand. Writing with extraordinary precision, humor, and beauty, Julia Pierpont has crafted a timeless, hugely enjoyable novel about the bonds of family life—their brittleness, and their resilience. Advance praise for Among the Ten Thousand Things "This book is one of the funniest and most emotionally honest I've read in a long time."—Jonathan Safran Foer "Remarkable . . . Pierpont displays not only wisdom, but real tact as a writer, knowing how much to say, how much to leave out, how much to imply."—Colm Tóibín "Every page of this gorgeous novel contains such joys that you won't want to stop reading for anything."—J. Courtney Sullivan "Poignant, surprising, and fiercely intelligent, Among the Ten Thousand Things is about the sturdiness and tremendous delicacy of the bonds between parents and children. Don't miss this powerful debut."—Megan Abbott "A vicious and enchanting portrait of a fragmenting family that will leave you hungry for whatever Julia Pierpont does next."—Courtney Maum "Sharply observed and deeply illuminating, Among the Ten Thousand Things marks the beginning of what is sure to be a brilliant career."—Elliott Holt "Why aren't there more first or second or seventh novels like Among the Ten Thousand Things? That's what I asked myself as I read—actually, devoured—Julia Pierpont's debut. My conclusion: Very few writers, at any point in their lives, can produce prose of the sort you'll find here."—Sean Wilsey "Among the Ten Thousand Things succeeds in being both heartbreaking and funny: It's a wry, sly look at a privileged New York upbringing and the ultimate loneliness at the heart of it."—Mary Gordon "The perennial theme of marital infidelity is given a brisk, insightful, and sophisticated turn in Pierpont's impressive debut. . . . This novel leaves an indelible portrait of lives blown off course."—Publishers Weekly (starred review) "A treat for fans of Jonathan Franzen, Jami Attenberg, and Emma Straub . . . shows off an exciting new voice on the literary landscape."—Library Journal (starred review) From the Hardcover edition.. English | score: 5 Longlisted for the International Dylan Thomas Prize 2016 An anonymous package arrives in the post: a cardboard box containing sheaves of printed emails chronicling New York-artist Jack's secret life. The package is addressed to his wife Deb, but it's delivered into the wrong hands: her children's. With this vertiginous opening begins a heart-stopping debut about a family blown apart by an affair, yet still painfully tethered together. English | Description provided by Bowker | score: 5 -- Praise for -- --Moira Hodgson, -- -- -- -- -- --BBC From the Hardcover edition. English | Description provided by Bowker | score: 4 For fans of Jenny Offill, Jonathan Franzen, A.M. Homes, and Lorrie Moore, Among the Ten Thousand Things is a dazzling first novel. Jack Shanley is a well-known New York artist, charming and vain, who doesn't mean to plunge his family into crisis. His wife, Deb, gladly left behind a difficult career as a dancer to raise the two children she adores. In the ensuing years, she has mostly avoided coming face-to-face with the weaknesses of the man she married. But then an anonymously sent package arrives in the mail- a cardboard box containing sheaves of printed emails chronicling Jack's secret life. The package is addressed to Deb, but it's delivered into the wrong hands- her children's. With this vertiginous opening begins a debut that is by turns funny, wise, and indescribably moving. Writing with extraordinary precision, humour, and beauty, Julia Pierpont has crafted a timeless novel about the bonds of family life - their brittleness, and their resilience. English | score: 3 Writing with extraordinary precision, humor, and beauty, Julia Pierpont has crafted a funny, wise, and indescribably moving debut novel -- a portrait of an American family on the cusp of irrevocable change, and a startlingly original story of love and time lost. English | score: 2 NATIONAL BESTSELLERNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE AND THE HUFFINGTON POST • For fans of Jennifer Egan, Jonathan Franzen, Lorrie Moore, and Curtis Sittenfeld, Among the Ten Thousand Things is a dazzling first novel, a portrait of an American family on the cusp of irrevocable change, and a startlingly original story of love and time lost. Jack Shanley is a well-known New York artist, charming and vain, who doesn't mean to plunge his family into crisis. His wife, Deb, gladly left behind a difficult career as a dancer to raise the two children she adores. In the ensuing years, she has mostly avoided coming face-to-face with the weaknesses of the man she married. But then an anonymously sent package arrives in the mail: a cardboard box containing sheaves of printed emails chronicling Jack's secret life. The package is addressed to Deb, but it's delivered into the wrong hands: her children's.... English | score: 2 For fans of Jennifer Egan, Jonathan Franzen, Lorrie Moore and Curtis Sittenfeld, Among the Ten Thousand Things is a dazzling first novel, a portrait of an American family on the cusp of irrevocable change, and a startlingly original story of love and time lost. English | score: 2 Fiction.
Literature.
HTML:Advance praise for Among the Ten Thousand Things "This book is among the funniest and most emotionally honest I've read in a long time."--Jonathan Safran Foer "Remarkable . . . Pierpont displays not only wisdom, but real tact as a writer, knowing how much to say, how much to leave out, how much to imply."--Colm Tóibín "Every page of this gorgeous novel contains such joys that you won't want to stop reading for anything."--J. Courtney Sullivan "A vicious and enchanting portrait of a fragmenting family that will leave you hungry for whatever Julia Pierpont does next."--Courtney Maum "Poignant, surprising, and fiercely intelligent, Among the Ten Thousand Things is about the sturdiness and tremendous delicacy of the bonds between parents and children. Don't miss this powerful debut."--Megan Abbott "Sharply observed and deeply illuminating, Among the Ten Thousand Things marks the beginning of what is sure to be a brilliant career."--Elliott Holt "Why aren't there more first or second or seventh novels like Among the Ten Thousand Things? That's what I asked myself as I read--actually, devoured--Julia Pierpont's debut. My conclusion: Very few writers, at any point in their lives, can produce prose of the sort you'll find here."--Sean Wilsey "Among the Ten Thousand Things succeeds in being both heartbreaking and funny: It's a wry, sly look at a privileged New York upbringing and the ultimate loneliness at the heart of it.". HTML: Starred review from February 2, 2015
1 alternate | English | Description provided by Bowker | score: 1 -- Praise for -- Among the Ten Thousand Things “Gripping . . . Pierpont brings this family of four to life in sharply observed detail. . . . An acute observer of social comedy, Ms. Pierpont has a keen eye for the absurd.” -- Among the Ten Thousand Things -- Gone Girl “Tender, delicately perceptive . . . Pierpont’s voice is wry and confident, and she is a fine anthropologist of New York life.” -- —San Francisco Chronicle. English | score: 1 Fiction.
Literature.
HTML:"A luscious, smart summer novel . . . about a family blown apart and yet still painfully tethered together, written by a blazingly talented young author whose prose is so assured and whose observations are so precise and deeply felt that it's almost an insult to bring up her age. . . . [Julia] Pierpont illustrates how hard it can be to grow up, at any age--just one of the many reasons Among the Ten Thousand Things is such an impressive debut."--Helen Schulman, The New York Times Book Review "[An] excellent, insightful first novel . . . a gripping portrait of the disintegration of the Shanley family . . . Pierpont brings this family of four to life in sharply observed detail. . . . An acute observer of social comedy, Ms. Pierpont has a keen eye for the absurd."--Moira Hodgson, The Wall Street Journal "Pierpont's language is heart-stopping. In one scene, with her characters suspended in emotional turmoil, she pauses to describe their empty house. There's even a sparse, poetic interlude in the middle of the book that skips across the family's lives for decades. . . . Then she rewinds the decades and picks up where she left off. It's the kind of structural risk that shouldn't work, but in her skilled hands it lands beautifully. Technically, of course, this is a domestic drama. But between Pierpont's literary finesse and her captivating characters, it reads like a page-turner. [Grade:] A".
HTML:"What sets Pierpont apart . . . is her storytelling chops. The chapters that follow that dramatic opening make it clear that there are going to be as many ingenious twists and turns in this literary novel as there are in a top-notch work of suspense like Gone Girl. The effect is dizzying: as a reader you feel, as the Shanleys do, that the earth keeps shifting beneath your feet.".
HTML:"[A] tender, delicately perceptive account of one family torn apart by infidelity . . . Pierpont's voice is wry and confident, and she is a fine anthropologist of New York life, especially for those creative types who never quite manage to fit in with cultural expectations."--The Washington Post "Bracing . . . Pierpont's killer ending reveals the long reach of the affair's consequences (sorry, no plot spoilers). Consider this a twisty, gripping story--that packs an emotional wallop."--O: The Oprah Magazine "An emotionally sophisticated, nuanced examination of a splintering Upper West Side New York City family . . . Among the Ten Thousand Things rises above for its imagined structure, sentence-by-sentence punch, and pure humanity. Weaving readers through the New York streets with the Shanleys, and in and out of each of their minds as they try to survive the infidelity that's torn them from the life they've built, Pierpont has written a debut so honest and mature that it will resonate with even the most action-hungry readers--perhaps against reason. Her story is the one we'll be talking about this summer, and well beyond."--Meredith Turits, Vanity Fair "[A] sharp, knowing dissection of an unraveling marriage . . . This is the first novel by Ms. Pierpont, . . . and it shows a remarkably mature understanding of the delicate emotional balances in families--how feelings can flow back and forth like electricity in some kind of zero-sum game--and the subtle, irrational vicissitudes of people's psyches. . . . It is an old story, a crumbling marriage, but Ms. Pierpont gives it fresh insights, making the particular unhappiness (and occasional happiness) of the Shanleys by turns poignant, funny and very sad. . . . The book really comes alive when she gets inside the children's heads and follows them around. Like the best fictional alienated-children-of-New York--Holden Caulfield; the Brooklyn kids in Noah Baumbach's film The Squid and the Whale;.
HTML: Starred review from February 2, 2015 A dazzling first novel, a portrait of an American family on the cusp of irrevocable change, and a startlingly original story of love and time lost. Jack Shanley is a well-known New York artist, charming and vain, who doesn't mean to plunge his family into crisis. His wife, Deb, gladly left behind a difficult career as a dancer to raise the two children she adores. In the ensuing years, she has mostly avoided coming face-to-face with the weaknesses of the man she married. But then an anonymously sent package arrives in the mail: a cardboard box containing sheaves of printed emails chronicling Jack's secret life. English | score: 1 Among the Ten-Thousand Things chronicles the breakup of a family in contemporary New York following a devastating extra-marital affair. Jack is a sculptor charming and vain, visionary and vulnerable in equal measure whose controversial work wins him attention from a young admirer. When Jack's spurned lover sends his wife Deb a box of their correspondence to their apartment (and after it is accidentally intercepted by their children), Deb takes refuge with nine-year-old Kay and eleven-year-old Simon on Rhode Island where they become embroiled with a local family that hauntingly reflects their. English | score: 1 New York artist Jack Shanley is charming and vain. His wife, Deb, gladly left behind a difficult career as a dancer to raise the two children she adores. In the ensuing years, she has mostly avoided coming face-to-face with the weaknesses of the man she married. But then an anonymously sent package arrives in the mail: a cardboard box containing printed emails chronicling Jack's secret life. The package is addressed to Deb, but it's delivered into the wrong hands: her children's. As the Shanleys spin apart into separate orbits, leaving New York in an attempt to regain their bearings, fifteen-year-old Simon feels the allure of adult freedoms for the first time, while eleven-year-old Kay wanders precariously into a grown-up world she can't possibly understand. English | Description provided by Bowker | score: 1 Deb, a former ballet dancer turned full-time mom, avoids acknowledging the infidelities of her husband Jack, a well-known New York artist. An anonymously sent package of printed emails chroncling Jack's secret life arrives, addressed to Deb. It is delivered instead into the hands of her children. Family members spin apart into separate orbits, abandoning New York in an attempt to regain their bearings. English | score: 1 For fans of Jennifer Egan, Jonathan Franzen, Lorrie Moore, and Curtis Sittenfeld, Among the Ten Thousand Things is a dazzling first novel, a portrait of an American family on the cusp of irrevocable change, and a startlingly original story of love and time lost. Jack Shanley is a well-known New York artist, charming and vain, who doesn't mean to plunge his family into crisis. His wife, Deb, gladly left behind a difficult career as a dancer to raise the two children she adores. In the ensuing years, she has mostly avoided coming face-to-face with the weaknesses of the man she married. But then an anonymously sent package arrives in the mail: a cardboard box containing sheaves of printed emails chronicling Jack's secret life. The package is addressed to Deb, but it's delivered into the wrong hands: her children's. With this vertiginous opening begins a debut that is by turns funny, wise, and indescribably moving. As the Shanleys spin apart into separate orbits, leaving New York in an attempt to regain their bearings, fifteen-year-old Simon feels the allure of adult freedoms for the first time, while eleven-year-old Kay wanders precariously into a grown-up world she can't possibly understand. Writing with extraordinary precision, humor, and beauty, Julia Pierpont has crafted a timeless, hugely enjoyable novel about the bonds of family life-their brittleness, and their resilience. Advance praise for Among the Ten Thousand Things "This book is one of the funniest and most emotionally honest I've read in a long time."-Jonathan Safran Foer "Remarkable ... Pierpont displays not only wisdom, but real tact as a writer, knowing how much to say, how much to leave out, how much to imply."-Colm TOibin "Every page of this gorgeous novel contains such joys that you won't want to stop reading for anything."-J. Courtney Sullivan "Poignant, surprising, and fiercely intelligent, Among the Ten Thousand Things is about the sturdiness and tremendous delicacy of the bonds between parents and children. Don't miss this powerful debut."-Megan Abbott "A vicious and enchanting portrait of a fragmenting family that will leave you hungry for whatever Julia Pierpont does next."-Courtney Maum "Sharply observed and deeply illuminating, Among the Ten Thousand Things marks the beginning of what is sure to be a brilliant career."-Elliott Holt "Why aren't there more first or second or seventh novels like Among the Ten Thousand Things' That's what I asked myself as I read-actually, devoured-Julia Pierpont's debut. My conclusion: Very few writers, at any point in their lives, can produce prose of the sort you'll find here."-Sean Wilsey "Among the Ten Thousand Things succeeds in being both heartbreaking and funny: It's a wry, sly look at a privileged New York upbringing and the ultimate loneliness at the heart of it."-Mary Gordon "The perennial theme of marital infidelity is given a brisk, insightful, and sophisticated turn in Pierpont's impressive debut... . This novel leaves an indelible portrait of lives blown off course."-Publishers Weekly (starred review) "A treat for fans of Jonathan Franzen, Jami Attenberg, and Emma Straub ... shows off an exciting new voice on the literary landscape."-Library Journal (starred review) From the Hardcover edition. English | score: 1 Fiction.
Literature.
HTML:"A luscious, smart summer novel . . . about a family blown apart and yet still painfully tethered together, written by a blazingly talented young author whose prose is so assured and whose observations are so precise and deeply felt that it's almost an insult to bring up her age. . . . [Julia] Pierpont illustrates how hard it can be to grow up, at any age--just one of the many reasons Among the Ten Thousand Things is such an impressive debut."--Helen Schulman, The New York Times Book Review "[An] excellent, insightful first novel . . . a gripping portrait of the disintegration of the Shanley family . . . Pierpont brings this family of four to life in sharply observed detail. . . . An acute observer of social comedy, Ms. Pierpont has a keen eye for the absurd."--Moira Hodgson, The Wall Street Journal "Pierpont's language is heart-stopping. In one scene, with her characters suspended in emotional turmoil, she pauses to describe their empty house. There's even a sparse, poetic interlude in the middle of the book that skips across the family's lives for decades. . . . Then she rewinds the decades and picks up where she left off. It's the kind of structural risk that shouldn't work, but in her skilled hands it lands beautifully. Technically, of course, this is a domestic drama. But between Pierpont's literary finesse and her captivating characters, it reads like a page-turner. [Grade:] A".
HTML:"What sets Pierpont apart . . . is her storytelling chops. The chapters that follow that dramatic opening make it clear that there are going to be as many ingenious twists and turns in this literary novel as there are in a top-notch work of suspense like Gone Girl. The effect is dizzying: as a reader you feel, as the Shanleys do, that the earth keeps shifting beneath your feet.".
HTML:"[A] tender, delicately perceptive account of one family torn apart by infidelity . . . Pierpont's voice is wry and confident, and she is a fine anthropologist of New York life, especially for those creative types who never quite manage to fit in with cultural expectations."--The Washington Post "Bracing . . . Pierpont's killer ending reveals the long reach of the affair's consequences (sorry, no plot spoilers). Consider this a twisty, gripping story--that packs an emotional wallop."--O: The Oprah Magazine "An emotionally sophisticated, nuanced examination of a splintering Upper West Side New York City family . . . Among the Ten Thousand Things rises above for its imagined structure, sentence-by-sentence punch, and pure humanity. Weaving readers through the New York streets with the Shanleys, and in and out of each of their minds as they try to survive the infidelity that's torn them from the life they've built, Pierpont has written a debut so honest and mature that it will resonate with even the most action-hungry readers--perhaps against reason. Her story is the one we'll be talking about this summer, and well beyond."--Meredith Turits, Vanity Fair "[A] sharp, knowing dissection of an unraveling marriage . . . This is the first novel by Ms. Pierpont, . . . and it shows a remarkably mature understanding of the delicate emotional balances in families--how feelings can flow back and forth like electricity in some kind of zero-sum game--and the subtle, irrational vicissitudes of people's psyches. . . . It is an old story, a crumbling marriage, but Ms. Pierpont gives it fresh insights, making the particular unhappiness (and occasional happiness) of the Shanleys by turns poignant, funny and very sad. . . . The book really comes alive when she gets inside the children's heads and follows them around. Like the best fictional alienated-children-of-New York--Holden Caulfield; the Brooklyn kids in Noah Baumbach's film The Squid and the Whale;.
HTML: Starred review from February 2, 2015
English | score: 0 Fiction.
Literature.
HTML:Advance praise for Among the Ten Thousand Things "This book is among the funniest and most emotionally honest I've read in a long time."--Jonathan Safran Foer "Remarkable . . . Pierpont displays not only wisdom, but real tact as a writer, knowing how much to say, how much to leave out, how much to imply."--Colm Tóibín "Every page of this gorgeous novel contains such joys that you won't want to stop reading for anything."--J. Courtney Sullivan "A vicious and enchanting portrait of a fragmenting family that will leave you hungry for whatever Julia Pierpont does next."--Courtney Maum "Poignant, surprising, and fiercely intelligent, Among the Ten Thousand Things is about the sturdiness and tremendous delicacy of the bonds between parents and children. Don't miss this powerful debut."--Megan Abbott "Sharply observed and deeply illuminating, Among the Ten Thousand Things marks the beginning of what is sure to be a brilliant career."--Elliott Holt "Why aren't there more first or second or seventh novels like Among the Ten Thousand Things? That's what I asked myself as I read--actually, devoured--Julia Pierpont's debut. My conclusion: Very few writers, at any point in their lives, can produce prose of the sort you'll find here."--Sean Wilsey "Among the Ten Thousand Things succeeds in being both heartbreaking and funny: It's a wry, sly look at a privileged New York upbringing and the ultimate loneliness at the heart of it.". HTML:NATIONAL BESTSELLER
English | score: 0 Jack Shanley is a well-known New York artist, charming and vain, who doesn’t mean to plunge his family into crisis. His wife, Deb, gladly left behind a difficult career as a dancer to raise the two children she adores. In the ensuing years, she has mostly avoided coming face-to-face with the weaknesses of the man she married. But then an anonymously sent package arrives in the mail: a cardboard box containing sheaves of printed emails chronicling Jack’s secret life. The package is addressed to Deb, but it’s delivered into the wrong hands: her children’s. With this vertiginous opening begins a debut that is by turns funny, wise, and indescribably moving. As the Shanleys spin apart into separate orbits, leaving New York in an attempt to regain their bearings, fifteen-year-old Simon feels the allure of adult freedoms for the first time, while eleven-year-old Kay wanders precariously into a grown-up world she can’t possibly understand. Writing with extraordinary precision, humor, and beauty, Julia Pierpont has crafted a timeless, hugely enjoyable novel about the bonds of family life—their brittleness, and their resilience. 1 alternate | English | score: 0 Dans la famille Shanley: Jack, charmeur impenitent, est un artiste reconnu; Deb a renonce quant a elle, avec une certaine allegresse, a une carriere de danseuse de ballet pour elever leurs deux enfants. Un appartement a Manhattan, une famille presque heureuse tant Deb s'applique a fermer les yeux sur les infidelites de son mari.Jusqu'au jour ou un paquet anonyme ebranle le foyer: une simple boite en carton, remplie d'emails chroniquant sans pudeur la vie secrete de Jack. Le paquet, adresse a Deb, tombe malencontreusement entre les mains des enfants. Rien ne sera plus comme avant...Roman d'une famille en deconstruction, Parmi les dix milliers de chosesest une comedie humaine a quatre voix, saisissante d'audace et de justesse."C'est le livre le plus drole et le plus authentique que j'ai lu depuis longtemps." Jonathan Safran FoerTraduit de l'anglais (Etats-Unis) par Aline Azoulay-Pacvo French | Primary description for language | score: 1 
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LibraryThing Early Reviewers AlumJulia Pierpont's book Among the Ten Thousand Things was available from LibraryThing Early Reviewers.  Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature American literature in English American fiction in English 2000-LC ClassificationRatingAverage: (2.88)
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