{"product_id":"the-great-wherever","title":"The Great Wherever","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\u003cb\u003eShannon Sanders\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of the linked short story collection \n\u003ci\u003eCompany\u003c\/i\u003e, which won the 2024 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes' Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction, was named one of the best books of 2023 by \n\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e and Debutiful, and was shortlisted for the 2024 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. Her short fiction has appeared in numerous publications, including \n\u003ci\u003eOne Story\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003eThe Sewanee Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003eVirginia Quarterly Review\u003c\/i\u003e, and \n\u003ci\u003eElectric Literature\u003c\/i\u003e, and has received a PEN\/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers. She lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with her husband and three sons.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Great Wherever\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Expectations were running high for Shannon Sanders' first novel. . . . A playful and poignant intergenerational saga about a haunted farm in which ancestors watch over and critique the living for posterity and entertainment, \n\u003ci\u003e The Great Wherever\u003c\/i\u003e leaps over that bar....Inventive and new....I was hooked from the first sentence.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--NPR, 15 Most Anticipated Books of Summer\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\"A gripping saga of Black legacy.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePeople\u003c\/i\u003e, Must-Read Books for Summer 2026\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"This is a truly magnificent novel from a uniquely powerful voice. A bighearted triumph.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eKirkus \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A gripping multigenerational epic of land, home, and inheritance. . . . Sanders poses timely questions of ownership and ancestry, and she packs the novel with indelible imagery. . . .This resonates.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e(starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Powerful. . . .I ate up this debut. \" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--Modern Mrs. Darcy\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A debut novel that is part family saga, part historical fiction, part ghost story, and entirely captivating. . . . Sanders expertly portrays familial relationships, imbuing her characters with pathos and humor as they grapple with the complexities of family legacy.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\"Sanders is a sublime writer with unparalleled talent. I could read her writing all day, every day.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--Debutiful, The Most Anticipated Debut Books of 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\"Simply put, this book is a pleasure and a treasure. Witty and wise, intelligent and engaging, heartbreaking and heartmending. Shannon Sanders is a writer to keep your eye on. \" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--Tayari Jones\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\" \n\u003ci\u003eThe Great Wherever\u003c\/i\u003e is an epic and deeply human story of family and fortune that reaches across the divide between the living and the dead with grace, humor, and emotional conviction. Shannon Sanders's love for her characters is matched only by her ability to make us care about them as much as she does. I'm in awe of what she accomplishes in this astoundingly good debut novel.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--Patrick Ryan, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eBuckeye\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\" \n\u003ci\u003eThe Great Wherever \u003c\/i\u003eis fertile ground for Shannon Sanders's vast gifts as a writer. Dead or alive, righteous or wrong, every one of her Lambs is a singular, beautiful mess, together growing the rich family history she seeds, from page one, with great care, heart, and unyielding humor. By the novel's end, I felt as dazzled as one of the ancestors at the edge of the pond, in awe of all its beauty and magic.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eDawnie Walton, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Final Revival of Opal \u0026amp; Nev\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"In \n\u003ci\u003eThe Great Wherever, \u003c\/i\u003eSanders masterfully bridges generations and yet is still able to home in on her characters' intricate inner lives. By the end, they all feel like family, and reading their story feels like coming home. Gripping, moving, witty, and wise, this is historical fiction at its finest.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--Margaret Wilkerson Sexton, \u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eauthor of \u003ci\u003eOn the Rooftop\u003c\/i\u003e, a Reese's Book Club pick\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\"What unfolds in \n\u003ci\u003eThe Great Wherever\u003c\/i\u003e is not a single story but a gathering of them--voices overlapping, correcting, and remembering differently. Shannon Sanders allows those differences to stand, creating a narrative that feels layered, unsettled, and true to the way families actually move through time -- together, but not always in agreement. Sanders writes the Lamb family with enormous care and irresistible vitality; even their ghosts carry vanity, heartbreak, and humor. An utterly transporting debut.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--Essie Chambers, bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eSwift River\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\" \n\u003ci\u003eThe Great Wherever\u003c\/i\u003e is an arch yet heartwarming tale of family, the ghosts that haunt them, and the place we call home. Between the story's heartbreaks, we get leaps of humor that made me love every member of the Lamb family, the ones dead and the ones alive. It is rare to root for every character and yet I found myself doing so. What a gift of a book.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eVanessa Chan, internationally bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Storm We Made\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eCompany\u003c\/i\u003e: \u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A deftly woven tapestry that scrupulously depicts familial ties and estrangement, richly told with a nuance that allows each character dignity and grace.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eJonathan Escoffery, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"[ \n\u003ci\u003eCompany\u003c\/i\u003e] captures Black familial relations beyond the frame. . . . Sanders extracts comedy from the formidable situations that erupt in people's lives―divorce, financial struggle, aging, death and childlessness. Whether chosen or biological, who we consider family can shape how we cope with drama.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Sanders' writing is what we need right now: stories of Black Americans living and questioning and existing as families in this complicated world. She doesn't focus on Black trauma...Instead, she writes about regular people living their regular, messy lives; her characters are both funny and relatable.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWashington City Paper\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\" \n\u003ci\u003eCompany \u003c\/i\u003eis a rich and distinct collection that announces Shannon Sanders as an exciting new voice in contemporary literature.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBOMB\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Sanders's flair for home life links her work to a tradition of 'domestic fiction, ' a line traced from Alice Munro and Marilynne Robinson back to Flannery O'Connor and Zora Neale Hurston, whose narrative pace Company frequently evokes. In the work of these women writers, Sanders may have confirmed her own taste for the Southern surreal.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Adroit Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Sanders excels in this masterly debut collection about a Black extended family . . . describing their slights, heartaches, and misbehavior with exquisite emotional acuity. This is a winner.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Remarkable. . . . The characters throughout are expertly rendered and deeply relatable. . . . Sanders' stories are unforgettable, making this a strong and promising debut.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Shannon Sanders's stories simply blew me away. The Collins family and the many folks in their orbit are endlessly fascinating, frustrating, and fun to meet on the page. \n\u003ci\u003eCompany \u003c\/i\u003eis a riotous, dazzling debut that is as profound as it is entertaining.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eDeesha Philyaw, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Secret Lives of Church Ladies\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A brilliant debut with each incisive chapter offering a new window into the beguiling Collins family. This delighted me.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eAnn Napolitano, \u003ci\u003e New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eHello Beautiful\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\" \n\u003ci\u003eCompany \u003c\/i\u003eis a story collection that eats like a novel. Each story feels like a completely different vision of the same majestically sprawling family, as these neurotic high achievers struggle to balance the duties of kinship, social appearances, and honesty to their true selves. Reading Shannon Sanders makes me want to visit home.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eTony Tulathimutte, author of \u003ci\u003eRejection\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003ePrivate Citizens\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\" \n\u003ci\u003eCompany \u003c\/i\u003eintroduces an unforgettable cast of characters who remind us that family can be both wound and salve. Sanders offers sharp and original insight into the intimate politics of race and class and the impossible rules we've inherited to navigate them. This is a brilliant and immaculate debut.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eDanielle Evans, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Office of Historical Corrections\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNamed a Most Anticipated Book of Summer 2026 by NPR, \u003ci\u003ePeople\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eOprah Daily\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHarper's Bazaar, \u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eTown and Country\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eEsquire\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Post\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e, WGBH, \u003ci\u003eReal Simple, The Root, Our Culture\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eWoman's World\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLiterary Hub, \u003c\/i\u003eModern Mrs. Darcy, \u003ci\u003eBiblioLifestyle, \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eBookpage\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe dead are relentless gossips, or at least these dead are.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eAn impulsive and heartbroken woman inherits her father's share of a Tennessee farm that is rich in family secrets and occupied with busybody ghosts in this sweeping family portrait. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAt thirty-two, Aubrey Lamb is stumbling through adulthood. An underpaid gig worker in Washington, DC, she's grieving the end of a serious relationship and the recent loss of her father. When Aubrey learns she has inherited his stake in a sizable Tennessee farm she sees an opportunity to get out of the city--and to erase a mounting pile of debt. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWatching her arrival with great interest are four ghosts--Aubrey's ancestors, who've staked their own claims to the farm and who never hesitate to pass judgment on the mistakes made by the living, whether romantic, financial, or sartorial. As Aubrey reconnects with her living family, another story unfolds in parallel: the history of the land, beginning with its purchase by Thomas, Aubrey's great-grandfather and one of the first Black landowners in his community. Though Thomas hopes to give his children a homestead on which they could flourish, the land proves to be a burdensome inheritance. Over the years, it turns the Lambs against one another, culminating in a catastrophic tragedy that splinters the family and echoes through the decades. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eNow, as the clock ticks on a potential sale of the farm, the ghosts fear expulsion from the home they've made, and Aubrey must weigh the hopes and burdens of her forebears with the very real needs of her future. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAn expansive family saga told with a wry and distinctly modern voice, \n\u003ci\u003eThe Great Wherever\u003c\/i\u003e is at once grand and intimate; it explores the ways we learn to define ourselves through and against our families, how we carry on after loss, and how the past lives on in all of us. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\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 04\/01\/2026 pg. 63 (EAN 9781250421678, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e 05\/11\/2026 (EAN 9781250421678, Hardcover) - *Starred Review\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/span\u003e 06\/01\/2026 (EAN 9781250421678, Hardcover) - *Starred Review\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eBooklist\u003c\/span\u003e 06\/01\/2026 (EAN 9781250421678, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eContributor Bio:\u003c\/strong\u003eSanders, Shannon\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eShannon Sanders\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of the linked short story collection \n\u003ci\u003eCompany\u003c\/i\u003e, which won the 2024 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes' Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction, was named one of the best books of 2023 by \n\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e and Debutiful, and was shortlisted for the 2024 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. Her short fiction has appeared in numerous publications, including \n\u003ci\u003eOne Story\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003eThe Sewanee Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \n\u003ci\u003eVirginia Quarterly Review\u003c\/i\u003e, and \n\u003ci\u003eElectric Literature\u003c\/i\u003e, and has received a PEN\/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers. She lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with her husband and three sons.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n","brand":"Henry Holt \u0026 Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51496282423574,"sku":"9781250421678","price":35.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0857\/9910\/8886\/files\/9781250421678.jpg?v=1783058976","url":"https:\/\/lusper.myshopify.com\/products\/the-great-wherever","provider":"Lusperbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}