Send Me A Novel

Patrick Ryan's first work of fiction is written with such authority, grace, and wisdom, it might be the capstone of a distinguished literary career. In the Florida of NASA launches, ranch houses, and sudden hurricanes, Teresa Kerrigan, ungrounded by two divorces, tries to hold her life together. But her ex-husbands linger in the background while her four children spin away to their own separate futures, each carrying the baggage of a complex family history. Matt serves as caretaker to the ailing father who abandoned him as a child, while his wild teenage sister, Karen, hides herself in marriage to a born-again salesman. Joe, a perpetual outsider, struggles with a private sibling rivalry that nearly derails him. And then there's the youngest, Frankie, an endearing, eccentric sci-fi freak who's been searching since childhood for intelligent life in the universeand finds it. Written with wry affection, and with compassion for every character in its pages,Send Meis a wholly original, haunting evocation of family love, loss, and, ultimately, forgiveness. From the Hardcover edition.

Patrick Ryan was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Florida. His work has appeared in the Yale Review, the Iowa Review, One Story, and other journals. He lives in New York City.


From the Hardcover edition.