Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Sebastian Ritscher
Categories
Fiction & Related items

THE DURATION

Dave Fromm

Set in the haunted hills of Berkshire County, THE DURATION is a love story about the bonds we form in childhood and the ways they both encumber and sustain us.

It’s been 100 years since tragedy struck the rolling woods around Fleur-de-Lys, one of dozens of Gilded Age estates dotting the western Massachusetts town of Gable. In Gable, they both begrudge and venerate their past, and even now that health spas and corporate yoga retreats have replaced the mansions of a bygone era, the ghosts of yesteryear linger. Growing up there means navigating those ghosts, and the even more pernicious pitfalls of adolescence, until you’re lucky enough to find your footing. Unless you’re not. In THE DURATION, Boston attorney Pete Johansson finds himself reuniting in Gable with his troubled childhood pal Chickie, who has returned to the wintry town of their youth determined to solve past mysteries and right the wrongs he can’t seem to shake. Despite – or because of – his best intentions, Pete is drawn reluctantly into Chick’s reckless orbit, straining a bedrock friendship and putting them both at risk. David Fromm's THE DURATION is a mesmerizing and compelling debut novel about the bonds of friendship and the re-emergence of the past. Fromm is also the author of the memoir Expatriate Games: My Season of Misadventures in Czech Semi-Pro Basketball (Skyhorse 2008).

Available products
Book Published 2016-05-01 by Tyrus Books

Comments

THE DURATION is many things, all of them wonderful: A distinctly American coming-of-age tale, a lushly written ode to a particular and peculiar place, a comedic bromance, and a serious and weighty look at the pain of entering mature adulthood. Fromm's affection for small-town America, and his skill in rendering its inhabitants in great and telling detail, will remind readers of the best of Richard Russo.

[A]s appealing as it is eccentric, Fromm mixes his infectious offbeat humor with a serious undertone.

Fromm’s fiction debut blends a zany adventure with a low-key exploration of nostalgia…Fromm depicts a sad tenderness between men with common histories, afraid to grow, and trapped into thinking their best moments are in the past.

Fromm has created both a fascinating character and an intriguing storyteller with a real flair for narrative. THE DURATION may be Fromm’s first novel, but it reads like the work of an old hand, a professional who knows what he’s doing.