Tom Perrotta – författare

A sharp, funny and beautifully observed satire about the disturbing influence of the Christian right from one of America’s most cherished authors.Ruth Ramsey went too far. She hadn't noticed the changing climate. A Sex Ed teacher ‘championing’ oral sex!? Not now, not in this America…Cherished by her high school pupils as someone who'd tell it straight, after one innocent classroom indiscretion Ruth suddenly finds the curriculum she has taught for nigh on 15 years worryingly out of vogue. As the scandal flares up and attracts the unwelcome eye of the local evangelical Church, the appeasing high-school principal forces her into advocating a pro-abstinence agenda in the classroom that is at odds with all conventional wisdom. But jaded though she is by her recent divorce and fruitless search for a new love, Ruth is determined that the values she grew up with will not be sacrificed to Puritanism.It is a syllabus change which should be considered a victory by Tim Mason – recovering addict, local football coach and recent convert to the same plaintiff Church – but his new found faith is constantly put to the test by the temptations of his former life. When he makes the gesture of leading his football team in prayer after a hard-fought victory, in which Ruth's daughter Maggie starred, he manages not only to incur the wrathful attention of her mother, but to cement his position as the star evangelist of his church – an office he is none too sure about occupying.Scathing, witty and brilliantly observed,‘The Abstinence Teacher' is a cutting portrayal of modern America and the influence of the Christian right from the acclaimed, bestselling author of 'Election' and 'Little Children'.

A brilliantly funny novel from the author of ‘The Abstinence Teacher’ and ‘Little Children’, made into an acclaimed film starring Reece Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick.Tracy Flick wants to be president of Winwood High. She’s one of those ambitious girls who finds time to do it all: edit the yearbook, star in the school musical, sleep with her English teacher. Staunch idealist, Jim McAllister (aka ‘Mr M’) thinks the students deserve better. So he persuades Paul Warren – a well-liked, good-hearted jock – to run as well. But that puts Paul’s sister, Tammy, in a snit. So she runs too, on an apathy platform – before starting a real campaign…to get herself kicked out of school.The idea was to educate the students of this suburban New Jersey school in the democratic process and the American way. But with all the sex scandals, smear campaigns and behind-the-scenes powerbrokers at Winwood High, it doesn’t look as if they need any lessons…

The second novel from Tom Perrotta, author of ‘Little Children’, ‘Election’ and ‘The Abstinence Teacher’.Everything is going pretty well for Dave Raymond. He's 31, but he still feels young. He's playing guitar with the Wishbones, a New Jersey wedding band, and while it isn't exactly the Big Time, it is music. He has a roof over his head…well, it's his parents' roof, but they don't hassle him much. Life isn't perfect. But it isn't bad. Not bad at all.But then he has to blow it all by proposing to his girlfriend…One man's treasure is another man's millstone. To Dave, the treasure in question is Gretchen; a sexy, bohemian poet Dave meets when playing at a wedding with his band. While Gretchen the poet plays 'the bridesmaid', Dave plays 'the rock-star'. And suddenly, the comfortable trajectory of his reality seems far less appealing.

From the author of ‘Little Children’ and now a major new TV series, ‘The Leftovers’ asks what if one day some of us simply vanished? And some were left behind?Following the sudden disappearance of thousands of citizens, Kevin Garvey, Mapleton’s new mayor, wants to bring a sense of hope to his traumatised community, but his family has fallen apart in the wake of disaster. Kevin’s wife has joined a homegrown cult, and his son is a disciple of the prophet Holy Wayne. Only Jill, Kevin’s daughter, remains, and she’s no longer the sweet student she once was.Written with a rare ability to illuminate our everyday struggles, ‘The Leftovers’ is a startling novel about love, connection and loss.

Soon to be a major film Tracy Flick, star of Election and one of the most memorable characters of our time, returns in this dark and insightful comedy about midlife. Ambitious and hardworking Tracy Flick feels underappreciated and stuck. Her job as a high school assistant principal isn’t the political career she dreamed of as an over-achieving teen, so when the longtime principal abruptly announces his retirement, offering a rare chance of promotion, Tracy is filled with zeal at the prospect of success.But nothing ever comes easily to Tracy Flick, no matter how diligent or qualified she happens to be. As she takes her shot at the top job, her male colleagues’ determination to honour Vito Falcone, a star quarterback of dubious character, triggers troubling memories of her high school experience, and storm clouds brewing in her present – her goals, career and relationships – send Tracy spiralling.‘One of the great writers that we have today. I love this book’ Harlan Coben‘Engrossing and mordantly funny’ People‘Told with Perrotta’s piercing wit, wisdom, and exquisite insight into human folly, Tracy’s second act delivers acerbic insight about frustrated ambition’ Esquire‘Brilliant, biting satire’ Associated Press

A startling, thought-provoking novel about love, connection, and loss from The New York Times bestselling author of The Abstinence Teacher and Little Children

Not since the dawn of the music video has pop music undergone a pioneering effort as exciting as this. In LIT RIFFS, America's latest generation of celebrated storytellers joins a list of the most world-renowned rock critics in composing a unique anthology. The anthology consists of fiction, non-fiction, and free-form riffs based on the writer's reaction to the songs that have inspired us all. The book features contributions from Dave Eggers, Jonathan Lethem, Jennifer Belle, Lisa Tucker, Greil Marcus, Rebecca Wells, Nelson George and many more. This is the first book with it's own soundtrack and readers will be able to listen to it, thanks to a CD from Manhattan Records that will be distributed simultaneously. Taking both the written word and the sung lyric to new places, LIT RIFFS is a revolutionary medium from some of today's most influential young talents.

A group of parents, trapped in middle-class stability, deal with marriage, kids and their suburban life in very different ways.Todd, the handsome stay-at-home-dad - the one all the playground Moms admire in a silent look-but-do-not-touch fashion. He's trying (for his wife's sake) to pass his bar exam although he blatantly doesn't want to be a lawyer, and in a desperate attempt to reclaim his youth joins a midnight touch-football team.and starts a passionate affair with Sarah. Sarah is a lapsed feminist who isn't quite sure how she ended up being a traditional wife. She's the kind of mother who (shock horror) is capable of forgetting her daughter's snack, and in a moment's rebellion dares to kiss Todd in front of the mother's group.

New York Times bestseller!From the bestselling author of The Leftovers and Little Children comes a penetrating and hilarious new novel about sex, love, and identity on the frontlines of America's culture wars.Eve Fletcher is trying to figure out what comes next. A forty-six-year-old divorcee whose beloved only child has just left for college, Eve is struggling to adjust to her empty nest when one night her phone lights up with a text message. Sent from an anonymous number, the mysterious sender tells Eve, "U R my MILF!" Over the months that follow, that message comes to obsess Eve. While leading her all-too-placid life-serving as Executive Director of the local senior center by day and taking a community college course on Gender and Society at night-Eve can't curtail her own interest in a porn website called MILFateria.com, which features the erotic exploits of ordinary, middle-aged women like herself. Before long, Eve's online fixations begin to spill over into real life, revealing new romantic possibilities that threaten to upend her quiet suburban existence.Meanwhile, miles away at the state college, Eve's son Brendan-a jock and aspiring frat boy-discovers that his new campus isn't nearly as welcoming to his hard-partying lifestyle as he had imagined. Only a few weeks into his freshman year, Brendan is floundering in a college environment that challenges his white-dude privilege and shames him for his outmoded, chauvinistic ideas of sex. As the New England autumn turns cold, both mother and son find themselves enmeshed in morally fraught situations that come to a head on one fateful November night.Sharp, witty, and provocative, Mrs. Fletcher is a timeless examination of sexuality, identity, parenthood, and the big clarifying mistakes people can make when they're no longer sure of who they are or where they belong.

New York Times bestseller!Now a major Sky/HBO TV seriesFrom the bestselling author of The Leftovers and Little Children comes a penetrating and hilarious new novel about sex, love, and identity on the frontlines of America's culture wars.Eve Fletcher is trying to figure out what comes next. A forty-six-year-old divorcee whose beloved only child has just left for college, Eve is struggling to adjust to her empty nest when one night her phone lights up with a text message. Sent from an anonymous number, the mysterious sender tells Eve, "U R my MILF!" Over the months that follow, that message comes to obsess Eve. While leading her all-too-placid life-serving as Executive Director of the local senior center by day and taking a community college course on Gender and Society at night-Eve can't curtail her own interest in a porn website called MILFateria.com, which features the erotic exploits of ordinary, middle-aged women like herself. Before long, Eve's online fixations begin to spill over into real life, revealing new romantic possibilities that threaten to upend her quiet suburban existence.Meanwhile, miles away at the state college, Eve's son Brendan-a jock and aspiring frat boy-discovers that his new campus isn't nearly as welcoming to his hard-partying lifestyle as he had imagined. Only a few weeks into his freshman year, Brendan is floundering in a college environment that challenges his white-dude privilege and shames him for his outmoded, chauvinistic ideas of sex. As the New England autumn turns cold, both mother and son find themselves enmeshed in morally fraught situations that come to a head on one fateful November night.Sharp, witty, and provocative, Mrs. Fletcher is a timeless examination of sexuality, identity, parenthood, and the big clarifying mistakes people can make when they're no longer sure of who they are or where they belong.