The Smash-Up: A Novel

Synopsis: In this “mesmerizing” (The New York Times) and modern take on Edith Wharton’s classic Ethan Frome, the cultural and political battles of Resistance-era America invade a once stable family. Forced to define what they value most, can they come together after allowing the world to come between them?
 
“An astute commentary on the differences between Wharton’s time and ours.”—Los Angeles Times

It’s September 2018. In Washington, D.C., and in cities and towns across America, women have taken to the streets to protest a Supreme Court nominee. And in Starkfield, Massachusetts, a sleepy rural town where nothing much ever happens, Ethan Frome’s otherwise quiet life has turned upside down.

Ethan’s wife, Zo, is so enraged by the national political scene that she’s transformed their home into a local headquarters for the Resistance. His college roommate and former business partner faces “Me Too” allegations, sending Ethan into increasingly desperate financial straits. His unruly, headstrong daughter, Alex, grows more challenging by the day.

Enter Maddy Silver—a breezy, blue-haired millennial making her way through the gig economy. Suddenly Ethan and Zo must question everything: their past, their future, their marriage, and what they value most. And all the while, a world-rocking cultural smash-up inches ever closer to home.

Inspired by a classic Edith Wharton novella about a strained marriage in a small town, The Smash-Up is at once an intimate, moving portrait of a family in distress, a vivid examination of our roiling national rancor, and a powerful exploration of how the things we fail to notice can shatter a family, a community, and a nation.