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Narrated by Therese Plummer
Kevin WilsonUnabridged — 12 hours, 28 minutes
Narrated by Therese Plummer
Kevin WilsonUnabridged — 12 hours, 28 minutes
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When Isabelle Poole meets Dr. Preston Grind, she's just about out of options. She recently graduated from high school and is pregnant with her art teacher's baby. Her mother is dead and her father is a drunk. The art teacher is too much of a head-case to help raise the child. Izzy knows she can be a good mother but without any money or prospects, she's left searching.
So when Dr. Grind offers her a space in The Infinite Family Project, she accepts. Housed in a spacious compound in Tennessee, she joins nine other couples, all with children the same age as her newborn son, to raise their children as one extended family. Grind's theory is that the more parental love a child receives, the better off they are.
This attempt at a utopian ideal-funded by an eccentric billionaire-starts off promising: Izzy enjoys the kids, reading to them and teaching them to cook. She even forms a bond with her son more meaningful than she ever expected. But soon the gentle equilibrium among the families is upset and it all starts to disintegrate: unspoken resentments between the couples begin to fester; the project's funding becomes tenuous; and Izzy's feelings for Dr. Grind, who is looking to expunge his own painful childhood, make her question her participation in this strange experiment in the first place.
Written with the same compassionate voice, disarming sense of humor, and quirky charm that made The Family Fang such a success, PERFECT LITTLE WORLD is a poignant look at how the best families are the ones we make for ourselves.
Kevin Wilson…knows how to construct a story…Like Vonnegut, like Atwood, Wilson is up to serious business—like them, he's also very funny…[Perfect Little World is] a novel you keep reading for old-fashioned reasons—because it's a good story, and you need to know what happens. But you also keep reading because you want to know what a good family is. Everyone wants to know that.
10/10/2016
The author of The Family Fang invents another unusual family structure for his sweet and thoroughly satisfying second novel. When bright high school senior Izzy Poole, whose mother has died and whose alcoholic father ignores her, discovers that she is pregnant by the art teacher at her Tennessee school, her choices are limited, especially after the teacher commits suicide. So when she is approached by idealistic child psychologist Dr. Preston Grind to join an experiment in communal child raising funded by the billionaire heiress to a retail store fortune, she somewhat reluctantly takes up the offer. The idea is that Izzy and nine other couples, all pregnant at the same time, will raise their kids in common in the Infinite Family Project for 10 years, to see if that situation aids the children’s emotional and intellectual development. The children thrive; the adults, not so much. Wilson keeps his eye on the grown-ups, particularly Izzy and Preston, as rifts begin to form in the carefully planned and maintained structure. Wilson grounds his premise in credible human motivations and behavior, resulting in a memorable cast of characters. He uses his intriguing premise to explore the meaning of family and the limits of rational decision making. Agent: Julie Barer, the Book Group. (Jan.)
A good story, and even better storytelling.” — John Irving, The New York Times Book Review
“Wild. . . . [A] provocative read.” — People
“Charming. . . . Wilson pulls off his sweet-and-tart tone. . . . The novel delights in the project’s Willy Wonkaesque sense of antic chaos.” — Washington Post
“Delicious. . . . Wilson is such an inventive and witty writer. . . . [His] ‘perfect little world’ of a novel pretty much lives up to its title.” — NPR
“Persistently compassionate. . . . Wilson’s best moments are funny and earnest. . . . [His] crisp language and smart plotting make Perfect Little World immensely likable and absolutely enjoyable.” — GQ
“Quirky. . . . Wilson’s Perfect Little World finds its bliss in the vast disconnect between people’s best intentions and where they land.” — Entertainment Weekly
“The sheer energy of imagination in Wilson’s work makes other writers of realistic fiction look lazy. . . . The novel’s grand finale . . . reminds us that not everything unpredictable is painful or bad, and that conventional arrangements have no monopoly on the profound connections that make family.” — Newsday
“Family is far more than a biological bond; that’s not a groundbreaking idea. But Wilson has found a lovely new way of telling readers something they know by heart.” — Houston Chronicle
“The compensation is a greater richness in the characters, and a refreshingly un-ironic attitude toward love — Knoxville News-Sentinel
“Wilson does an incredible job of telling a compelling story while addressing important social issues. . . . Thought-provoking. — Deep South Magazine
“In light and lively prose that practically tap dances on the page, Wilson shrewdly probes the intricate tensions and machinations that lie at the core of this eccentric family unit. . . . A provocative and uplifting read.” — Bookpage
“Stellar. . . . Compelling. . . . Realer and wiser and sadder and eventually reassuring about human nature than dozens of other novels.” — Booklist, Starred Review
“Bittersweet. . . . Wilson delves into the drama and tensions inherent in this strange aquarium. . . . A moving and sincere reflection on what it truly means to be a family — Kirkus, Starred Review
“Sweet and thoroughly satisfying. . . . Wilson grounds his premise in credible human motivations and behavior, resulting in a memorable cast of characters.” — Publishers Weekly
“[A] moving novel about love, parenting, and the families we create for ourselves.” — Library Journal
The sheer energy of imagination in Wilson’s work makes other writers of realistic fiction look lazy. . . . The novel’s grand finale . . . reminds us that not everything unpredictable is painful or bad, and that conventional arrangements have no monopoly on the profound connections that make family.
Persistently compassionate. . . . Wilson’s best moments are funny and earnest. . . . [His] crisp language and smart plotting make Perfect Little World immensely likable and absolutely enjoyable.
Delicious. . . . Wilson is such an inventive and witty writer. . . . [His] ‘perfect little world’ of a novel pretty much lives up to its title.
Family is far more than a biological bond; that’s not a groundbreaking idea. But Wilson has found a lovely new way of telling readers something they know by heart.
Wilson does an incredible job of telling a compelling story while addressing important social issues. . . . Thought-provoking.
A good story, and even better storytelling.
Wild. . . . [A] provocative read.
Quirky. . . . Wilson’s Perfect Little World finds its bliss in the vast disconnect between people’s best intentions and where they land.
Charming. . . . Wilson pulls off his sweet-and-tart tone. . . . The novel delights in the project’s Willy Wonkaesque sense of antic chaos.
The compensation is a greater richness in the characters, and a refreshingly un-ironic attitude toward love
In light and lively prose that practically tap dances on the page, Wilson shrewdly probes the intricate tensions and machinations that lie at the core of this eccentric family unit. . . . A provocative and uplifting read.
Stellar. . . . Compelling. . . . Realer and wiser and sadder and eventually reassuring about human nature than dozens of other novels.
Charming. . . . Wilson pulls off his sweet-and-tart tone. . . . The novel delights in the project’s Willy Wonkaesque sense of antic chaos.
Persistently compassionate. . . . Wilson’s best moments are funny and earnest. . . . [His] crisp language and smart plotting make Perfect Little World immensely likable and absolutely enjoyable.
Charming. . . . Wilson pulls off his sweet-and-tart tone. . . . The novel delights in the project’s Willy Wonkaesque sense of antic chaos.
Quirky. . . . Wilson’s Perfect Little World finds its bliss in the vast disconnect between people’s best intentions and where they land.
Wild. . . . [A] provocative read.
Family is far more than a biological bond; that’s not a groundbreaking idea. But Wilson has found a lovely new way of telling readers something they know by heart.
Stellar. . . . Compelling. . . . Realer and wiser and sadder and eventually reassuring about human nature than dozens of other novels.
The compensation is a greater richness in the characters, and a refreshingly un-ironic attitude toward love
Wilson does an incredible job of telling a compelling story while addressing important social issues. . . . Thought-provoking.
In light and lively prose that practically tap dances on the page, Wilson shrewdly probes the intricate tensions and machinations that lie at the core of this eccentric family unit. . . . A provocative and uplifting read.
Delicious. . . . Wilson is such an inventive and witty writer. . . . [His] ‘perfect little world’ of a novel pretty much lives up to its title.
The sheer energy of imagination in Wilson’s work makes other writers of realistic fiction look lazy. . . . The novel’s grand finale . . . reminds us that not everything unpredictable is painful or bad, and that conventional arrangements have no monopoly on the profound connections that make family.
Inventive and hilarious. This is complex psychological ground. . . . Wilson navigates it with a calm experience.
Wilson writes stylishly, with a clear eye for family dysfunction and the absurdity of the contemporary art world, but his real skill is technical, building up a slow-drip mystery in which everyone is suspected of high crimes or high art until the very end.
Kevin Wilson expertly navigates between pathos and black comedy while negotiating a smart debate about the human cost of sacrificing all for one’s art. Fang has bite but is also incredibly fun.
Wilson’s ambition alone is exciting. . . . [His] writing has a Houdinilike perfection, wherein no matter how grim the variables, each lovely sentence manages to escape with all its parts intact.
It’s such a minty fresh delight to open up The Family Fang, and feel the revitalizing blast of original thought; robust invention. . . . Wilson’s inventive genius never stops. . . . [It] will linger in your mind long after.
Praise for The Family Fang
10/01/2016
Dr. Preston Grind, a wunderkind child psychologist, himself the product of a highly questionable "friction method" of parenting developed by his own psychologist parents, sets up an experimental family community in the woods of Tennessee with the financial assistance of a kindhearted billionaire widow. Housing nine young couples and one single mother (19-year-old Izzy), this collective parenting study assigns all of the adults equal responsibility for each of the kids, who don't live with their own parents (or even know their actual identity) until the age of five. It seems unbelievable that Dr. Grind and the team of psychologists he hires to organize, run, and study the community couldn't have foreseen the obvious complications of this setup, sexual indiscretions and marital infidelities chief among them. Wilson (The Family Fang) presents this world through the eyes of Izzy and Dr. Grind, both smart and sensitive individuals damaged by painful upbringings who learn to overcome them and connect. VERDICT It takes a village, or in this case a well-meaning, utopian parenting study, to create the ingredients for this almost farcical yet moving novel about love, parenting, and the families we create for ourselves. [See Prepub Alert, 8/1/16.]—Lauren Gilbert, Sachem P.L., Holbrook, NY
05/01/2017
Eighteen-year-old Izzy Poole's mother died when she was young, and her father drowned his grief in alcohol. Just before her high school graduation, she learns she is pregnant by her emotionally unstable art teacher. Confronted with the prospect of raising her baby alone, Izzy joins a research study that promises support for her and her son. Dr. Preston Grind, a famous child psychologist, has created the Infinite Family Project. For 10 years, 10 babies and their parents will live in a complex. The adults will raise the children together as a collective family while pursuing their professional goals, with all living expenses covered by an eccentric benefactor; however, none of the children will know who their biological parents are. While many of the participants find the setup strange, the project is successful for a long time. But when the utopian arrangement begins to fall apart, Izzy is faced with the fear of once again being without a family. Teens will identify with Izzy's complicated relationship with her father and her hopes and fears for the future. What makes this story stand out is the questions it raises about current family structures as well as the benefits and drawbacks of the "it takes a village" approach to raising children. VERDICT Recommend this engaging, thought-provoking novel to teens interested in psychology or family studies.—Lynn Rashid, Marriotts Ridge High School, Marriottsville, MD
Thérèse Plummer’s thoughtful narration ably explores this offbeat novel’s meditation on family. The story features Izzy Poole, a pregnant high school graduate who receives an intriguing offer from Dr. Preston Grind to join a research project called The Infinite Family in which parents collectively rear their offspring. Plummer narrates Izzy’s thoughts with a musing, restrained tone even when cracks in the collective family threaten the group’s perfect little world. When occasional flashes of passion and anger reverberate, they’re all the more striking against the quiet backdrop Plummer creates. She voices a large cast of characters and deftly distinguishes each, with Izzy being especially delightful. Plummer’s intimate tone invites listeners to reflect on the poignant imperfections inherent in families of all kinds. J.C.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
★ 2016-10-26
That infamous village that's needed to raise a child comes to fruition when a brilliant researcher creates a communal parenting experiment.This is another bittersweet story about messed-up families from the talented Wilson (The Family Fang, 2011, etc.) but one in which the author stays a bit more grounded, keeping an atmosphere of emotional authenticity that rings true. Wilson's muse is Izzy Poole, a just-graduated high schooler with a particular talent for barbecuing meat, who finds herself in dire straits. She's pregnant with her emotionally disturbed art teacher's baby and estranged from her father. After the art teacher commits suicide, Izzy is confronted with a very odd proposal from a researcher with an agenda. At the behest of a retail mogul, Dr. Preston Grind is determined to create a model in which 10 children are raised by a commune of parents, with no child knowing who their biological parents are. We quickly learn that the doctor is actually a hot mess, raised by two famous child psychologists who subjected their child to constant and unexpected stress throughout his upbringing. Grind may have inherited their brilliance but he's also a cutter with borderline PTSD. Torn between the experiment and raising her son, Cap, alone, Izzy decides to go along with Grind's complex scheme. "She would make it work," Wilson writes. "Izzy would find tiny ways to make herself essential, to succeed when it seemed so unlikely. Ten years, that's what she had. She would mine every essential element out of these ten years and she would be transformed." The second half of the novel checks in on this "Infinite Family Project" every year or two, as Wilson delves into the drama and tensions inherent in this strange aquarium. Relationships begin to splinter, even as Izzy becomes fundamentally reliant on the group. "We're a family," Grind says, near the end. "An imperfect one." A moving and sincere reflection on what it truly means to become a family.
| BN ID: | 2940173494559 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HarperCollins |
| Publication date: | 01/24/2017 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
When Kevin Wilson stopped by our Poured Over podcast, he talked extensively about what he chooses to explore in his work and how his books show his personal evolution. With literary influences like Ann Patchett and George Saunders, it’s no surprise that Wilson’s stories of family include elements of magic — even as things fall […]
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