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Katie Hafner

The Boys: A Novel Hardcover – July 26, 2022

by Katie Hafner (Author)

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"A brilliant, thoughtful novel that comes with perhaps the greatest shocker in recent literature (no spoiler alert). A superb meditation on loneliness and community."—Gary Shteyngart, New York Times bestselling author of Our Country Friends

"Remarkable …. Starting out as a lighthearted romance before taking an unsettling turn, [The Boys] upends expectations in the best way."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

A delicious and smart summer read filled with humor and surprise.

When introverted Ethan Fawcett marries Barb, he has every reason to believe he will be delivered from a lifetime of solitude. She fills his world with a sense of adventure, expanding his horizons beyond his comfortable routine. Because Ethan fears becoming a father, one day Barb brings home two young brothers, Tommy and Sam, for them to foster, and Ethan immediately falls in love with the two boys. When the pandemic hits, he becomes obsessed with providing a perfect life for them. But instead of bringing Barb and Ethan closer together, the boys become a wedge in their relationship, as Ethan is unable to share with Barb a secret that has been haunting him since childhood. Then Ethan takes Tommy and Sam on a biking trip in Italy, and it becomes clear just how unusual Ethan and his children are. This hauntingly beautiful debut novel—a bold and original high-wire feat—is "a treat with a surprise inside” (Publishers Weekly).

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"Tender and emotionally intelligent . . . . An audacious feat of narrative bravado."– Maria Semple, author of Where’d You Go Bernadette

"The Boys is utterly charming -- one of the most delightful books I have read in ages. As we bike through Italy's little villages with introvert Ethan Fawcett, stopping to drink a caffè shakerato as church bells ring in a mournful E flat, what we see around us is the wide and beautiful horizon of the human heart. I absolutely loved this little miracle of a book."—Meg Waite Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The Postmistress of Paris

"This is a treat-yourself read, the tale of an endearing human on a hilariously misguided quest for love and connection, in the delight-filled tradition of Anne Tyler. But Hafner bakes a surprise into the center of her confection— a glorious, mind-blowing twist that propels the story to unexpected heights and depths. With exquisite compassion and humor, this novel leaves its readers deeply nourished, heart, mind, and soul." —Debra Jo Immergut, author of You Again and The Captives

"Unexpectedly funny, touching, disarming—The Boys got under my skin from the very first page. Hafner is a wry and wise explorer of the secrets buried deep in our most intimate relationships. This novel will stay with me for a long time."—Laura Zigman, author of Separation Anxiety

"Journalist and author Hafner's fiction debut is a striking entry to relationship fiction that is timely and optimistic. … With beautifully rendered characters and rich language, this is a treat, especially for fans of Anne Tyler and Elizabeth Berg.” —Booklist

About the Author

Katie Hafner is a journalist and author who writes frequently forThe New York Times and The Washington Post. She is the author of six non-fiction books including Mother Daughter Me, a memoir; A Romance on Three Legs: Glenn Gould's Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Piano; Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins of the Internet (with Matthew Lyon). She is host and co-executive producer of the popular podcast, Lost Women of Science. The Boys is her first novel. She lives in San Francisco.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Spiegel & Grau (July 26, 2022)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1954118058
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1954118058
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.74 pounds

Best Sellers Rank: #937,886 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #11,633 in Psychological Fiction (Books)
- #22,891 in Family Life Fiction (Books)
- #52,904 in Literary Fiction (Books)

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Katie Hafner

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Katie Hafner was born in Rochester, New York, and has lived in more cities, towns and hamlets than she cares to count. She started writing about technology in 1983, the year the Apple Lisa was introduced. For nearly a decade, she wrote about technology for the The New York Times's Circuits section. She currently writes on healthcare topics for the paper's Science section.

She has also written for Newsweek, BusinessWeek, Esquire, Wired, The New Republic, the Huffington Post and O Magazine. Her sixth book, Mother Daughter Me, a memoir, was published by Random House in July 2013. Her first novel, The Boys, is due out from Spiegel & Grau in July 2022.

Hafner is host and co-executive producer of the podcasts Lost Women of Science and Our Mothers Ourselves. (Photo credit: Christopher Michel)

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