Vendor
	Liepman Literary Agency Marc Koralnik
Original language
English

THE INFINITE

Nicholas Mainieri

THE INFINITE by Nicholas Mainieri is not the typical boy meets girl story.

A breathtaking portrait of post-Katrina New Orleans and a riveting descent into Mexico's drug war, THE INFINITE is an utterly unique debut about the borders that divide us and the truths that unite us.

Jonah McBee has deep roots in New Orleans, but with hardly any family left, he is half-heartedly planning to enlist in the army after high school. Luz Hidalgo, an undocumented Latina and budding track star, followed her father there after Hurricane Katrina. Both Jonah and Luz have known loss. Both are struggling to imagine a new future. And when they fall in love, it is intense, addictive, and real.

But everything changes when Luz discovers that she's pregnant. In a moment of panic, her father sends Luz back to Mexico so her grandmother can help raise the baby. Devastated, Jonah decides to take a road trip after her with his best friend when he doesn't hear from her.

Little does Jonah know, Luz is fighting for her life. Her trip has been cut short by a shocking act of violence, thrusting her into the endless cycle of bloodshed perpetrated by the cartels. So Luz does what she does best: she runs. And she goes farther and deeper than she ever imagined.

For fans of Richard Ford, Barbara Kingsolver and Louise Erdrich, this is a suspenseful, tender, and powerful debut.

Nicholas Mainieri's short fiction and essays have appeared in the Southern Review, Hobart, Sou'wester, fwriction:review, and The Southern Humanities Review, among other literary journals. His short piece, LANDSCAPES was nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and he holds an MFA from the University of New Orleans. Nicholas currently serves on the faculty at Nicholls State University and is an editor for the online literary journal, Gris-Gris. He grew up in Florida, Colorado, and Indiana, but now calls New Orleans home.

Available products
Book Published by Harper Perennial

Comments

engrossing debut novel (...) a pertinent dissection of place, class, roots, and identity.

Nick Mainieri is the real deal, and THE INFINITE is stunning. A compelling, brilliantly-told debut, written with power and clarity. Philipp Meyer, New York Times Bestselling author of THE SON

THE INFINITE is a novel that defies easy description. A gripping, edge-of-your-seat thriller following two star-crossed young lovers set adriftbut also a lyrical, beautifully written, and affecting meditation on many of the big questions. Nick Mainieri has crafted a page-turner, yes, but these sentences, and these characters, will linger for a long, long time. A remarkable achievement.

"The Infinite is that rare, beautiful first novel, so contemporary and yet as timeless as first love itself. And Nick Mainieri does what great novelists do with their first great works. He creates unforgettable characters in young lovers Jonah and Luz who, both together and alone, navigate the rushing river of the borderlands that mark our two Americas. The Infinite is a heart song, and Nicholas Mainieri is one of our next great storytellers." Joseph Boyden, author of THE ORENDA and THREE DAY ROAD

Mainieri presents a striking tale of two resilient and resourceful young adults as they set their sights on a tenuous future.

First love often reveals itself to be hollow, but Jonah and Luz, Nick Mainieri's star-crossed couple, have lost too much, and have too much at stake, for their story to be anything but utterly urgent. With a sharp eye for detail and careful, generous prose, Mainieri conjures whole worlds with a few words, taking the reader on a thrilling, heartbreaking journey from post-Katrina New Orleans to the bloody front of Mexico's cartel wars. THE INFINITE is a sparkling debut, a novel that seems to guarantee you'll be hearing Mainieri's name mentioned in the same breath as contemporary masters like Denis Johnson and Cormac McCarthy.

Spanning northern Mexico and the Gulf South, The Infinite is an entirely modern western, with a visceral sense of place and an ear for the small anxieties that shape our most courageous actions. In this tale of borders -- national, familial, psychological -- Luz and Jonah are more than just teenagers in love; haunted by their pasts and grasping for an uncertain future, they guide us through swampland, desert scrub, high school hallways, and a sicario's hideout. This is a thriller with heart, a romance on the run, and a manifesto for our increasingly tenuous landscape."