THE SLIPPAGE

William Day shares a simple suburban and childless existence with his wife, Louisa. When she approaches him with the unexpected demand to build a house for themselves, William must confront some uncomfortable truths about his life and future: Is this the ultimate dream? Is this what one should desire? As William feels the urge to reexamine his own expectations, he loses his footing and enters into 'the slippage' - a state of boredom, frustration and unfulfilled needs. Will an affair with an ex-girlfriend bring William out of this trap, or will it confirm the obvious?

With vivid imagery and sparkling metaphors, Greenman portrays a modern relationship with his trademark sarcastic wit, shining light on what it truly takes for a marriage to survive.

Ben Greenman is an editor at the New Yorker and author of several acclaimed works including Celebrity Chekhov, What He's Poised to Do, Please Step Back, Superbad, A Circle Is a Balloon and Compass Both. His fiction, essays and journalism has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, McSweeney's, The Paris Review, Zoetrope: All-Story, Opium, and elsewhere.

"Ben Greenman's relentlessly funny novel engages with the mystery whereby a seemingly sane man can take steps to simultaneously solidify and destroy his life. Greenman is a brilliant and wry stenographer."
—Karen Russell, author of Swamplandia