Publishers Weekly
01/07/2019
The “white elephant” of Langsdorf’s lively and entertaining debut refers to the architectural abomination of a house that’s been constructed in Willard Park, a D.C. suburb known for its trees and friendliness. The Millers, who live next door to the White Elephant, find their lives disrupted by the construction of both the house and the swaggering builder behind it, Nick Cox. Allison Miller has to juggle stagnation, in both her creative and sex lives, with a dangerously escalating attraction to Nick, whose very existence antagonizes her husband—especially after Nick accidentally fells a tree that Ted and Allison had planted for their daughter, Jillian. Meanwhile, quiet and socially unassuming preteen Jillian is embarking on an illicit friendship with Nick’s precocious daughter, Lindy. Besides the Millers and the Coxes, there’s also Suzanne and Grant Davenport-Gardner, new to the neighborhood after Grant was fired from his last job at a law firm for smoking weed. As the lives of these Willard Park residents overlap and intersect over a six-month period, affairs are conducted, houses are built and knocked down, and a community is irreversibly changed. As with many ensemble novels, some characters do not get the development they deserve, most notably Nick’s wife, Kaye, a flighty-seeming Southern belle. Nevertheless, this ambitious and intriguing work about the American suburbs is perfect for fans of Ann Patchett or Meg Wolitzer. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
White skewering its vacuity and vulgarity, Langsdorf captures the sensuous allure of confident, over-the-top American consumerism... Like Tom Perrotta’s “Little Children” and Maria Semple’s “Where’d You Go, Bernadette,” “White Elephant” exposes middle-class domestic malaise with a light comedic touch.” — New York Times Book Review
“An interloper’s plans to build a McMansion amid the cozy bungalows leads to angry town halls, scandalous romantic dalliances and shady high jinks.... All smart, satiric fun, the kind of comic novel that helps us see our own foibles while we’re laughing at those of others.” — Washington Post
“The ‘white elephant’ in this darkly comic social satire is a gaudy new home constructed in a quaint Washington, D.C., suburb. Conflict over the home pits residents against each other and turns their town into a battleground.” — USA Today
“If you’ve spent any time on the social media website Nextdoor, you know that neighborhoods are teeming with quiet (and sometimes not so quiet) resentments and bitter turf wars. The debut comic novel from Washington, D.C., author Langsdorf focuses on residents of a suburb locked in an angry fight.” — Los Angeles Times
“When a huge, garish home called the White Elephant infiltrates Willard Park, a quiet suburb, the neighborhood falls into utter comedic chaos. In the shadow of the home, neighbors begin to fight, lives are upended, and their once-peaceful town becomes anything but.” — The Millions
“Lively and entertaining.... This ambitious and intriguing work about the American suburbs is perfect for fans of Ann Patchett or Meg Wolitzer.” — Publishers Weekly
“Julie Langsdorf’s debut novel slams two conflicting ideas of the American Dream smack into each other with both wit and wisdom.... The dialogue is sharp and a mystery subplot adds a dash of suspense. Entertainment at its best, White Elephant earns a shiny, gold star.” — Shelf Awareness
“Langsdorf gleefully skewers small-town stereotypes.... But beneath the caricatures are deeper truths about belonging, community, and relationships. In this smartly satirical novel, the raging feud reveals much about the residents’ core values.” — Booklist
“Julie Langsdorf mines wit from the ways that people manage (or don’t) to live in close proximity. Her smart, enjoyable suburban comedy is observant and knowing about social selves and hidden selves, and the ways in which they are sometimes made to overlap.” — Meg Wolitzer, author of The Female Persuasion
“A smart, riveting look at what happens to a community when competing visions of the American Dream collide and combust. Langsdorf is a keen observer of human frailty and desire and her characters are darkly funny, recognizably exasperating and deeply memorable.” — Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, author of The Nest
“Writing with wonderful wit and precision, Langsdorf arranges her characters as thoughtfully as the tree-lined streets in their idyllic planned community.... White Elephant belongs on the bookshelf next to Rick Moody’s The Ice Storm and Richard Yates’ Revolutionary Road.” — Ann Leary, author of The Good House
“Delightful.... Langsdorf lets us peek into the windows of these cookie cutter houses and eavesdrop on the residents of Willard Park as they gossip, seek revenge and struggle with what it means to be a good neighbor. This debut is an absolute pleasure to read.” — Jennifer Close, author of Girls in White Dresses and The Hopefuls
“White Elephant is a terrific debut, brimming with wit, well-honed prose and sharp observations into human nature. It’s the kind of book I want to press into the hands of friends, because I know how much they will enjoy it.” — Cristina Alger, author of The Banker’s Wife and The Darlings
The Millions
When a huge, garish home called the White Elephant infiltrates Willard Park, a quiet suburb, the neighborhood falls into utter comedic chaos. In the shadow of the home, neighbors begin to fight, lives are upended, and their once-peaceful town becomes anything but.
New York Times Book Review
White skewering its vacuity and vulgarity, Langsdorf captures the sensuous allure of confident, over-the-top American consumerism... Like Tom Perrotta’s “Little Children” and Maria Semple’s “Where’d You Go, Bernadette,” “White Elephant” exposes middle-class domestic malaise with a light comedic touch.
USA Today
The ‘white elephant’ in this darkly comic social satire is a gaudy new home constructed in a quaint Washington, D.C., suburb. Conflict over the home pits residents against each other and turns their town into a battleground.
Meg Wolitzer
Julie Langsdorf mines wit from the ways that people manage (or don’t) to live in close proximity. Her smart, enjoyable suburban comedy is observant and knowing about social selves and hidden selves, and the ways in which they are sometimes made to overlap.
|Los Angeles Times
If you’ve spent any time on the social media website Nextdoor, you know that neighborhoods are teeming with quiet (and sometimes not so quiet) resentments and bitter turf wars. The debut comic novel from Washington, D.C., author Langsdorf focuses on residents of a suburb locked in an angry fight.
Booklist
Langsdorf gleefully skewers small-town stereotypes.... But beneath the caricatures are deeper truths about belonging, community, and relationships. In this smartly satirical novel, the raging feud reveals much about the residents’ core values.
Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
A smart, riveting look at what happens to a community when competing visions of the American Dream collide and combust. Langsdorf is a keen observer of human frailty and desire and her characters are darkly funny, recognizably exasperating and deeply memorable.
Shelf Awareness
Julie Langsdorf’s debut novel slams two conflicting ideas of the American Dream smack into each other with both wit and wisdom.... The dialogue is sharp and a mystery subplot adds a dash of suspense. Entertainment at its best, White Elephant earns a shiny, gold star.
Washington Post
An interloper’s plans to build a McMansion amid the cozy bungalows leads to angry town halls, scandalous romantic dalliances and shady high jinks.... All smart, satiric fun, the kind of comic novel that helps us see our own foibles while we’re laughing at those of others.
Washington Post
An interloper’s plans to build a McMansion amid the cozy bungalows leads to angry town halls, scandalous romantic dalliances and shady high jinks.... All smart, satiric fun, the kind of comic novel that helps us see our own foibles while we’re laughing at those of others.
USA Today
The ‘white elephant’ in this darkly comic social satire is a gaudy new home constructed in a quaint Washington, D.C., suburb. Conflict over the home pits residents against each other and turns their town into a battleground.
Los Angeles Times
If you’ve spent any time on the social media website Nextdoor, you know that neighborhoods are teeming with quiet (and sometimes not so quiet) resentments and bitter turf wars. The debut comic novel from Washington, D.C., author Langsdorf focuses on residents of a suburb locked in an angry fight.
Booklist
Langsdorf gleefully skewers small-town stereotypes.... But beneath the caricatures are deeper truths about belonging, community, and relationships. In this smartly satirical novel, the raging feud reveals much about the residents’ core values.
Ann Leary
Writing with wonderful wit and precision, Langsdorf arranges her characters as thoughtfully as the tree-lined streets in their idyllic planned community.... White Elephant belongs on the bookshelf next to Rick Moody’s The Ice Storm and Richard Yates’ Revolutionary Road.
Cristina Alger
White Elephant is a terrific debut, brimming with wit, well-honed prose and sharp observations into human nature. It’s the kind of book I want to press into the hands of friends, because I know how much they will enjoy it.
Jennifer Close
Delightful.... Langsdorf lets us peek into the windows of these cookie cutter houses and eavesdrop on the residents of Willard Park as they gossip, seek revenge and struggle with what it means to be a good neighbor. This debut is an absolute pleasure to read.
Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
A smart, riveting look at what happens to a community when competing visions of the American Dream collide and combust. Langsdorf is a keen observer of human frailty and desire and her characters are darkly funny, recognizably exasperating and deeply memorable.
