River Under the Road

<p><strong>From the bestselling critically acclaimed author of <em>Man in the Woods</em> and <em>Endless Love</em> a stunning stinging portrait of class and creativity-and the double-edged sword of success</strong></p><p>Thirteen parties over the course of two decades-an opium infused barbeque a reception for a doomed presidential candidate a fund-raiser for a blind child who speaks in tongues a visit to one of New York's fabled sex clubs-brilliantly reveal the lives of two couples one hoping to be admitted to the kingdom of Art the other hoping for a small share of the American dream both driven by forces of history they rarely perceive or acknowledge. </p><p>Thaddeus Kaufman the son of booksellers and Grace Cornell raised in a basement apartment she longs to escape meet at a neighborhood art fair in Chicago. Soon after they head to New York aloft on the wings of young love. Jennings Stratton the son of a caretaker and Muriel Sanchez the daughter of a cop meet in a house he is refurbishing in New Mexico and they too head for the big city. </p><p>In a vast Hudson River estate the lives of the two couples ultimately intertwine. Thaddeus has made it big in an unexpected way setting off a chain reaction of envy among his friends and peers and forever changing the dynamic of his marriage with Grace for whom success has been elusive and art once a source of solace has become a font of bitterness. And Jennings hoping to transcend his reputation as the local Casanova a man suited only for menial tasks has ventured into a cycle of theft and betrayal that threatens to destroy the fragile life of his family.</p><p>Funny and cutting affecting and expansive <em>River Under the Road</em> is Scott Spencer's masterpiece of all that lies beneath our everyday lives-a story about the pursuit of love art and money and the inevitable reckoning that awaits us all. </p>