Desperate Characters

Paula Fox has written many books for children and five other novels, as well as the memoir Borrowed Finery. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

‘Inarguably great. “Desperate Characters” soars above every other work of American realist fiction since the Second World War.’ Jonathan Franzen‘A towering landmark of postwar realism…a sustained work of prose so lucid and fine that it seems less written than carved.’ David Foster Wallace‘Brilliant.’ New Yorker‘A master class on the terrors and sophistries of the American bourgeoisie. Wise, unsettling and compassionate. A brilliant book.’ TLS‘Exhilarating…a novel of elegant sentences and very funny dialogue. Fox writes brilliant parties you’re grateful not to have been invited to.’ New York Review of Books‘She is one of America’s greatest living writers.’ Scotsman‘A masterpiece.’ Observer