{"product_id":"9781429932158","title":"The Coast of Akron: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"At last, \u003ci\u003eThe Coast of Akron! \u003c\/i\u003eAdrienne Miller is one of the wittiest and most humane writers we have, bringing to mind at once Dorothy Parker, Mary McCarthy, and M.F.K. Fisher.\"  -Dave Eggers\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAdrienne Miller, in her dazzlingly ambitious and hilarious first novel, introduces us to the unforgettable Haven family of Akron, Ohio. This is not your typical Midwestern family, and Lowell Haven is a most unusual patriarch. He's a seducer, a wannabe aristocrat, a liar. Jenny, his former wife, was a brilliant artist, but is today a broken woman with a secret.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the thirty years since Lowell and Jenny met, Lowell has become a world-famous artist, known for portraits of his favorite subject-himself. But five years ago, Lowell mysteriously stopped painting and the world now demands to know: Why has Lowell Haven abandoned his art? The answer is Merit, Lowell and Jenny's daughter, who is running as fast as she can from her family. Fergus, Lowell's partner, Jenny's ex-best friend, and drama queen extraordinaire, dreams of  luring Merit home: the sixty-five-room faux-Tudor mansion where he lives with Lowell. A lavish party for the Midwestern glitterati is the perfect excuse. But his delusions of grandeur loom over the gathering, and his decision to include a certain guest invites disaster.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStretching from mid-seventies London to the present-day Midwest, \u003ci\u003eThe Coast of Akron\u003c\/i\u003e is a sharply funny and deeply heartbreaking story about the all-too-human urge to own what is unownable.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Farrar, Straus and Giroux","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47154130452720,"sku":"9781429932158","price":7.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781429932158_p0.jpg?v=1769901360","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781429932158","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}