BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE

“It begins with a child .” So opens Jane Mendelsohn's riveting and powerful new novel, BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE, written in Mendelsohn's intense, honest, and captivating voice. On a mountaintop in Russia, a young girl is taken away from her parents by a mysterious stranger who promises her money and work. Instead, the girl faces a string of brutal awakenings as she is held prisoner on a ship, trafficked to New Jersey and kept in the back of a nail salon, enduring horrors. Years later, after gathering the strength to escape and forge a new life in New York City, Neva arrives at a lavish wedding in the British countryside as the nanny to Felix and Roman, twin boys in the rich, complicated, American Zane family. At the wedding, Neva is introduced to, among others: Steve, the looming, fiery patriarch; groom Jonathan, Steve's ruthless older son from a first marriage; Alix, Jonathan's hilariously sarcastic, malcontent sister; Patrizia, Steve's pragmatic, indulged wife; and Ian, successful New York theater director and Alix's best friend. As guests descend upon the grand event, the wildly glamorous and messed-up Esme arrives, a teenager who battles with Steve over her refusal to apply to college, and with herself over her attraction to the dashing, irresponsible, <> and much older Ian. Back in New York, Steve's real estate empire is threatened by those who want to use his hotels for nefarious purposes and he resists from his perch atop the global elite. As his connection to the strong and secretive Neva grows deeper, he enlists her help, forcing her to relive aspects of her traumatic past. Meanwhile, as Ian develops his jukebox Broadway musical, his romantic relationship with Esme builds to a disastrous betrayal. With only her “little mystic”, her young half-brother Felix, to turn to, Esme suffers a psychological deterioration that takes her through the "mirrored darkness” of New York City and leads to danger. As Jonathan strives to win his controlling father's affection and in so doing unleashes a series of secrets and crimes, BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE builds to a harrowing, stunning conclusion. In London, Laos, Rome, Brooklyn, Istanbul, and Manhattan, the members of the Zane family struggle to face the personal challenges of illicit love, familial rivalry, the meaning of parenthood, the effects of money on happiness, and finding the strength to survive. Mendelsohn transforms their private stories into a larger drama about the forces of globalization, international trafficking, and sexual violence, finding deep connections between the personal and the political. The novel's precise and dazzling language, filled with cinematic detail and psychological insight, captures the emotional worlds of its characters with visceral, intimate immediacy, bringing them powerfully alive. A propulsive story that unfolds with the inevitability of Greek tragedy, the novel reaches the heights of comedy and the depths of love. BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE is a bold, gorgeous book about life today and an unforgettable family who shocks us, entertains us, and breaks our heart.