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Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
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SOPHOMORES

Sean Desmond

The late 1980s come alive in this moving and keenly observed story of one boy's unforgettable sophomore year, and his parents' surprising journey alongside him.
It's the fall of 1987, and life as normal is ending for the Malone family. With their sterile Dallas, Texas, community a far cry from the Irish-American Bronx of their youth, Pat and Anne Malone have reached a breaking point. Pat, chief actuary for a struggling American Airlines, has fallen into his drinking, using the burn of alcohol to hide the mental and physical toll of his recent MS diagnosis. Meanwhile, Anne, his dutiful and devoutly Catholic wife, has been selected as a juror for a highly publicized murder trial. For the first time, Anne's attention is wavering, and the questions she's buried her entire life, about God and about men in power, begin to break through.

Together, Pat and Anne try to raise their only son Dan, a sophomore at Jesuit College Prep. Bright but unmotivated, Dan is aware of the cracks in his family, but he finds reprieve in his Honors English class, where he and his classmates are shocked into actual learning by their enigmatic teacher. For once, Dan is unable to fly under the radar and must ask himself what he might want to make of his life.

SOPHOMORES is the unforgettable story of what unfolds for the Malone family as this year progresses. With striking emotional insight and surprising humor, the novel brings alive the depth of the teenage experience, the inescapable devotion of parenthood, and the lasting impression that our upbringing leaves behind.

Sean Desmond is the publisher of Twelve, an imprint of Grand Central, and has been in the publishing world for over 23 years. His first novel Adam's Fall (St. Martin's) was published in 2000 and adapted into the film Abandon. He lives in Brooklyn.
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Published 2021-01-26 by Putnam

Comments

A witty, melancholic and affecting story about a family that struggles with the curse of knowing their own failings. Sophomores is a smart and beautiful novel about growing up and getting through that readers will savor.

With Sophomores, Sean Desmond (Adam's Fall) evokes late-1980s Dallas and its suburbs with eerie precision... A rich, subtle story of family grief and love, teenaged seeking and adult angst... Sophomores is a sharp, crystalline look at a few months in the lives of a "regular" family. With a keen gaze, it captures a city in transition and a boy just coming of age. Dan and his parents will stay with the reader long after the story is finished... [A] poignant and searching novel. Read more...

Desmond is good at conveying suburban angst. Read more...

Few writers have the talent to bring off a book like this - a Tom-Wolfe-on-the-Trinity, wittily observed, affectionate skewering of a particular time and place, in this instance Dallas in the '80s - but Sean Desmond succeeds brilliantly. It's by turns funny and touching, and always entertaining, with nods to Bonfire of the Vanities, Dead Poets Society, Catcher in the Rye, and your favorite '80s high school movie. I was sad upon reaching the last page.

Sophomores is the most mature adventure in immaturity I've ever read, a mordantly funny year in the life of a teenage boy who, true to his Irish-Catholic origins, sees and feels everything. Despite what the world heaped on this kid's shoulders, I found myself laughing every other page and wishing I was a part of the crew Sean Desmond manufactured to make the world a more interesting place.

We caught up with Desmond, who lives in Brooklyn and is the publisher of Twelve, an imprint of Grand Central Publishing, to talk about his new book. Read more...

Like Anne Tyler's fiction, Desmond's tale simmers as it shifts among members of the family, and an unspoken tension is present throughout. Infused with a dry and mournful humor, this slice of late 1980s nostalgia is a quietly fascinating exploration of coming of age, faith, and heritage. Read more...

Desmond's novel is smartly written and structured... Read more...

What a vibrant, propulsive, wildly intelligent and big-hearted slice of life Sophomores is, an intricate portrait of a family in crisis rendered with a great deal of humor and compassion. I loved this family, this corner of the world, this novel.