A Stranger on the Planet

A Novel

Fiction & Literature, Humorous, Literary
Cover of the book A Stranger on the Planet by Adam Schwartz, Soho Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Adam Schwartz ISBN: 9781569478707
Publisher: Soho Press Publication: January 25, 2011
Imprint: Soho Press Language: English
Author: Adam Schwartz
ISBN: 9781569478707
Publisher: Soho Press
Publication: January 25, 2011
Imprint: Soho Press
Language: English

A “touching and funny” novel of a dysfunctional family and one man’s struggle to both get away from them and to hold them close (Publishers Weekly).
 
In the summer of 1969, twelve-year-old Seth lives with his unstable mother, Ruth, and his brother and sister in a two-bedroom apartment in New Jersey. His father lives with his new wife in a ten-room house—and has no interest in Seth and his siblings.
 
Seth is dying to escape from his mother’s craziness and suffocating love, her marriage to a man she’s known for two weeks, and his father’s cold disregard. Over the coming decades, he will become the keeper of his family’s memories and secrets—at the same time emotionally isolating himself from all those who love him, especially his mother.
 
But Ruth is also Seth’s muse, and as he stumbles through life, dating a lesbian and marrying a shiksa, their bond can never really be broken . . .
 
“Funny, honest and obsessive . . . Adam Schwartz is one part Philip Roth, but with a neurosis all his own.” —Gish Jen, author of World and Town
 
“With exhilarating wit, skill and passion Adam Schwartz covers more than thirty years in Seth’s life as he fights with, negotiates, distances himself from and embraces his vivid, difficult relatives. A Stranger on the Planet brings us a hero who is almost heroically anti-heroic, and who can be counted on to almost always act, endearingly, in his own worst interests. I would happily have followed him anywhere.” —Margot Livesey, author of The House on Fortune Street

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

A “touching and funny” novel of a dysfunctional family and one man’s struggle to both get away from them and to hold them close (Publishers Weekly).
 
In the summer of 1969, twelve-year-old Seth lives with his unstable mother, Ruth, and his brother and sister in a two-bedroom apartment in New Jersey. His father lives with his new wife in a ten-room house—and has no interest in Seth and his siblings.
 
Seth is dying to escape from his mother’s craziness and suffocating love, her marriage to a man she’s known for two weeks, and his father’s cold disregard. Over the coming decades, he will become the keeper of his family’s memories and secrets—at the same time emotionally isolating himself from all those who love him, especially his mother.
 
But Ruth is also Seth’s muse, and as he stumbles through life, dating a lesbian and marrying a shiksa, their bond can never really be broken . . .
 
“Funny, honest and obsessive . . . Adam Schwartz is one part Philip Roth, but with a neurosis all his own.” —Gish Jen, author of World and Town
 
“With exhilarating wit, skill and passion Adam Schwartz covers more than thirty years in Seth’s life as he fights with, negotiates, distances himself from and embraces his vivid, difficult relatives. A Stranger on the Planet brings us a hero who is almost heroically anti-heroic, and who can be counted on to almost always act, endearingly, in his own worst interests. I would happily have followed him anywhere.” —Margot Livesey, author of The House on Fortune Street

More books from Soho Press

Cover of the book Solemn Graves by Adam Schwartz
Cover of the book Frozen Sun by Adam Schwartz
Cover of the book Dark Constellations by Adam Schwartz
Cover of the book D'Arc by Adam Schwartz
Cover of the book Property of Blood by Adam Schwartz
Cover of the book The Blood Royal by Adam Schwartz
Cover of the book Black Hornet by Adam Schwartz
Cover of the book Experiment in Springtime by Adam Schwartz
Cover of the book Pale Horses by Adam Schwartz
Cover of the book When Red Is Black by Adam Schwartz
Cover of the book The Manhattan Directory of Private Nursery Schools, 7th Edition by Adam Schwartz
Cover of the book Rag and Bone by Adam Schwartz
Cover of the book The Joy Brigade by Adam Schwartz
Cover of the book Light Fell by Adam Schwartz
Cover of the book The Brothers Boswell by Adam Schwartz
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy