Sharp and Dangerous Virtues: A Novel

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sharpand angerous virtues A N O V E L p F I C T I O N ADVANCE PRAISE FOR SHARP AND DANGEROUS VIRTUES: “In Sharp and Dangerous Virtues Martha Moody has conjured up an apocalyptic thriller unfolding in an Orwellian Twilight Zone formerly known as the heartland of America. Just pretend it can’t happen here. Prepare to be invaded.” —Vick Mickunas, book reviewer for the Dayton Daily News and host of Book Nook on WYSO Public Radio PRAISE FOR MARTHA MOODY’S PREVIOUS NOVELS Best Friends “First novels that track a pair of friends from college days through their subsequent lives aren’t exactly uncommon, but Moody’s is so freshly observed and gifted with a palpable sense of the ravages of time that it feels utterly new.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) The Office of Desire “Even as her characters make disastrous mistakes, Moody, a genuinely original voice, takes an unsentimental approach that never denies life’s possibilities. A provocative, intensely moving novel of ideas and opposing philosophies presented by deeply flawed, deeply human characters.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review), and one of Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2007 “[The Office of Desire] incorporates a lot of themes—explorations of faith, organized religion, sexual orientation, money, madness, death, and love—but Moody, a practicing physician, never loses control of the plot or her well-drawn characters; her details of medical life and caring for dying patients and loved ones resonate with truth.” —Library Journal Sometimes Mine “Moody probes new layers of emotion and personal connection as Genie the heart doctor comes to understand the intangible aspects of the human heart. Instead of applying the clichés of traditional romance to a midlife heroine, Moody introduces readers to a woman who never stops learning about work, family, people, and possibilities.” —Publishers Weekly A Swallow Press Book “PREPARE TO BE INVADED.” —Vick Mickunas, Dayton Daily News martha moody MOODY sharp & angerous virtues p SWALLOW “The world could be terrible. . . . Things happened that were random and vicious, and no virtue in the world could ever stand up to them. No virtue in the world except, perhaps, persistence.” —from Sharp and Dangerous Virtues It’s 2047 in Dayton, Ohio. In response to food and water shortages, the U.S. government has developed an enormous, and powerfully successful, agricultural area—the “Heartland Grid”—just north of the city. In the meantime, in the wake of declining American power a multinational force has established itself in Cleveland. Behind these quickly shifting alliances lies a troubling yet tantalizing question: What will the American future look like? Sharp and Dangerous Virtues is the story of ordinary people caught in situations they had never planned for or even imagined. There are Chad and Sharis, a married couple with two sons, holding out for normal life in their decaying suburb; Tuuro, a black church custodian whose false confession of murder is used for political purposes; Lila, Dayton ’s aging, lonely Commissioner of Water, who dreams of being part of the “pure” existence of the Grid residents; and Charles and Diana, idealistic lovers trying desperately to preserve the nature center that has become their refuge. What will these people do? What choices are left for them, and what choices have been taken away? Whom and what can they trust? Novelist Martha Moody—known for her vivid portrayals of complicated characters and relationships in novels such as Best Friends and Sometimes Mine—weaves together cataclysmic events and the most intimate of human emotions to create a future that seems achingly real. Sharp and Dangerous Virtues will change the way you think and feel. PHOTO BY MICHAEL JACOBS MARTHA MOODY is a lifelong resident of Ohio. A novelist and physician from Dayton, Moody’s three previous books of fiction have sold close to 1 million copies. She is the author of Best Friends (2001), The Office of Desire (2007), and Sometimes Mine (2009). Born in Canfield and raised in Mount Vernon and Mentor, Moody graduated from Mentor High School and Oberlin College. She received her MD and completed her residency at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Married to Martin Jacobs, MD, since 1985, she was a private practice internist for fifteen years before retiring to spend more time writing and with her husband and four sons. Since 2000, she has volunteered as a doctor in a clinic for the working poor, as a writing teacher for schools and arts centers, and in the Dayton Jewish community , activities for which she...