The End of the Book: A Novel

Praise, Title Page, Copyright, Dedication

“Sherwood Anderson’s George Willard shimmers back to life in The End of the Book, an artfully plotted evocation of Chicago in two centuries, and two aspiring writers deadened by commerce until—for each—an old love appears to reignite their best and earliest dreams. Porter Shreve delivers a richly layered hat-tip to Anderson’s impact on American letters , and a highly rewarding story at every turn.” —paula mclain, author of The Paris Wife “Porter Shreve’s The End of the Book is a remarkable novel about the huge promises fathers and sons, writers and readers, books and characters , make to each other, and how we break those promises, and how still we keep hoping not to break them, or break them again, or break them completely. . . . Shreve has written some terrific books, but this is his best yet.” —brock clarke, author of Exley and An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England The End of the Book is the story of an aspiring contemporary novelist who may or may not be writing a sequel to Sherwood Anderson’s classic Winesburg, Ohio. Adam Clary works in Chicago for a famous internet company on a massive project to digitize the world’s books, but secretly he hates his job and wishes to be a writer at a time when the book as physical object and book culture itself have never been more threatened. Counterpointing Adam’s story is that of George Willard, the young protagonist of Anderson’s book, who arrives in Chicago around 1900 when it was the fastestgrowing city in American history. Through alternating chapters, we follow George’s travails, including his marriage to the wealthy daughter of his boss, his affair with his hometown sweetheart, his artistic crisis, breakdown and flight, and along the way we see the echoes and intersections between his life and Adam’s as they struggle in two similar Americas through two similar times in the life of the book. This page intentionally left blank The End of the Book yellow shoe fiction michael griffith, Series Editor a novel The End of the Book PORTER SHREVE louisiana state university press baton rouge Published with the assistance of the Borne Fund Published by Louisiana State University Press Copyright © 2014 by Louisiana State University Press All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America LSU Press Paperback Original first printing designer: Mandy McDonald Scallan typeface: Minion printer and binder: Maple Press, Inc. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organization, places, circumstances, and events are the product of the author’s imagination, or else they are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual occurrences or individuals, living or dead, is coincidental. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Shreve, Porter. The end of the book : a novel / Porter Shreve. pages cm. — (Yellow Shoe Fiction) ISBN 978-0-8071-5622-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-08071 -5623-0 (pdf) — ISBN 978-0-8071-5624-7 (epub) — ISBN 978-0-8071-5625-4 (mobi) 1. Fathers and sons— Fiction. 2. Authorship — Fiction. 3. Obsessive-compulsive disorder— Fiction. 4. Families—Fiction. 5. Psychological fiction. 6. Domestic fiction. I. Title. PS3569.H7395E53 2014 813’.54— dc23 2013041043 The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. ∞ For Bich, Henry, and Julian This page intentionally left blank The End of the Book This page intentionally left blank ...