{"product_id":"the-amateur","title":"The Amateur","description":"\n\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBiographical Note\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tChris Bohjalian is the #1 \n\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of twenty-five books, including \n\u003ci\u003eThe Princess of Las Vegas, The Lioness, Hour of the Witch, Midwives, \u003c\/i\u003eand \n\u003ci\u003e The Flight Attendant\u003c\/i\u003e, which was a Max series starring Kaley Cuoco. His other books include \n\u003ci\u003eThe Guest Room; Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands; The Sandcastle Girls; Skeletons at the Feast;\u003c\/i\u003e and \n\u003ci\u003eThe Double Bind\u003c\/i\u003e. His novels \n\u003ci\u003eSecrets of Eden, Midwives, \u003c\/i\u003eand \n\u003ci\u003ePast the Bleachers \u003c\/i\u003ewere made into movies, and his work has been translated into more than thirty-five languages. His novels have been selections of Oprah's Book Club. He is also a playwright ( \n\u003ci\u003eThe Club, Midwives\u003c\/i\u003e, and \n\u003ci\u003eWingspan\u003c\/i\u003e). He lives in Vermont with his wife, photographer Victoria Blewer, and can be found at chrisbohjalian.com or on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Litsy, and Goodreads, @chrisbohjalian.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eChosen by the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e as one of \"The Novels Everyone Will Be Talking About in 2026.\" ● Chosen by Oprah's Book Club as one of \"Six Stories That'll Set the Tone for the Summer\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\"An irresistible, insightful retelling of \n\u003ci\u003eLolita\u003c\/i\u003e.\" \n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e--Marion Winik, \u003ci\u003eOprah Daily \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Unputdownable.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e--The Boston Globe \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Chris Bohjalian's latest is, quite simply, a masterpiece. I cannot praise this novel enough. It's delicate, haunting, complex, and startling. . . . A prescient reminder that those who feel most inclined towards guilt are often the least deserving of blame. \n\u003ci\u003eThe Amateur \u003c\/i\u003eis a standout stunner of a story, and the perfect gateway into Bohjalian's substantial literary oeuvre.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e--\u003c\/i\u003eMolly Odintz, \u003ci\u003eCrimeReads\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\" \n\u003ci\u003eThe Amateur\u003c\/i\u003e is a joyous novel with an unforgettable narrator who will break your heart. It is sharply funny, beautifully told and so moving on the way life can upend itself in a single moment. I adored it.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--Clare Leslie Hall, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eBroken Country \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A gripping literary thriller in which a young woman's future hangs in the balance after a chance accident at an elite country club exposes secret affairs and class divides. Impossible to put down.\" \n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e--Gillian McAllister, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eCaller Unknown \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e Wrong Place, Wrong Time \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Styled as an unflinchingly candid memoir written by Mira decades after the fact, Bohjalian's latest dazzles as it devastates. Plentiful foreshadowing ramps up tension and keeps the momentum high while Mira turns over weighty subjects--sexual abuse, post-traumatic stress, familial dysfunction--with grace and wry humor. It's a masterpiece.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e--Publishers Weekly \u003c\/i\u003e(Starred Review)\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"Irresistible... a marvelous 11th-hour twist and a satisfying denouement lie ahead. It's hard to think of any reason not to call this a perfect novel: a hole in one.\" \n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e--Kirkus \u003c\/i\u003e(Starred Review) \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Intrepid . . . Timely and empathic.\" \n\u003cb\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e--Booklist \u003c\/i\u003e(Starred Review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"Bohjalian delivers again with this suspenseful novel. . . . Provocative. . . . An engrossing read that will offer much discussion for book clubs.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e--Library Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eFrom the #1 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eMidwives\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Flight Attendant: \u003c\/i\u003e When a young woman, a golf prodigy, kills a caddy with a stray ball at the country club, the investigation of this freak accident reveals a dark and shocking tale of secret affairs, predatory men, and a teenager on trial.\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e1978: It is the first Thursday in August and temperatures are flirting with ninety when Mira Winston, eighteen years old, drives a golf ball from her tee toward the practice net near the clubhouse and caddy shack. The golf ball, weighing 1.6 ounces, tears through the net, traveling 150 miles per hour, and slams, with sickening force, into the temple of a high school junior named Kenny Foster, rupturing an artery and unleashing a torrent of blood. Kenny brings his hand to the side of his head, then topples onto his side. He's dead before the ambulance even arrives. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the wake of this terrible accident--and everyone, at first, agrees it was an accident--Mira looks for comfort in all the wrong places: In her lover, Theo Catton, a married man three decades her senior. In her mother, a well-kept woman with secrets of her own. In the dead caddy's little sisters, girls bewildered by grief. But when the investigators look more closely at the torn net, when a detective recalls Mira's history of recklessness, and when Kenny's father spies Mira with her married lover, the affluent and mannered community turns on this once-promising young woman. A gripping story that takes the reader from the sun-soaked greens of a tony Westchester country club to the fluorescent-lit stand of a county courtroom, \n\u003ci\u003eThe Amateur\u003c\/i\u003e asks: What happens when one small moment--a swing, a ball, a piece of string--changes the course of an entire life?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/span\u003e 05\/01\/2026 pg. 100 (EAN 9780385551298, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eBooklist\u003c\/span\u003e 05\/01\/2026 (EAN 9780385551298, Hardcover) - *Starred Review\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/span\u003e 05\/15\/2026 (EAN 9780385551298, Hardcover) - *Starred Review\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e 05\/04\/2026 (EAN 9780385551298, Hardcover) - *Starred Review\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n","brand":"Doubleday Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51496279245078,"sku":"9780385551298","price":39.6,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0857\/9910\/8886\/files\/9780385551298.jpg?v=1783058917","url":"https:\/\/lusper.myshopify.com\/products\/the-amateur","provider":"Lusperbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}