It examines the American self and American selfishness from 9/11 until today. 'There could not be a more timely novel than The Locals. The Locals might be the first great Occupy novel of the twenty-first century.' - Rachel Kushner, New York Times bestselling author of The Flamethrowers Jonathan Dee understands this impossible, enduring contract, sometimes called populism-other times, theft-as well as Didion does. ''A palpable contract between the very rich and the people who distrust them the least,' Joan Didion once said of the Getty Villa. The New York Times Book Review on A Thousand Pardons articulates complex emotional dynamics with precision and insight. The American novelist who has his finger on the pulse - Mark Lawsonĭee's gifts are often dazzling and his material meticulously shaped. It is also a novel that is timeless in its depiction of American small town life. THE LOCALS is that rare work of fiction capable of capturing a fraught American moment in real time. After the town's first selectman passes away suddenly, Hadi runs for office and begins subtly transforming the town in his image with unexpected results for Mark and his extended family.

The collision of these two men's very different worlds - rural vs urban, middle class vs rich - propels Jonathan Dee's powerful new novel.

What future can he promise to his wife Karen and their young daughter Haley? When a wealthy money manager, Philip Hadi, moves to Howland to escape post-9/11 New York, he hires Mark to turn his his house into a secure location. Mark Firth is a home builder in Howland, Massachusetts who, after being swindled by a financial advisor, feels opportunity passing him and his family by. A rural, working class New England town elects as its mayor a New York hedge fund millionaire in this urgent and inspired novel for our times.

The locals by jonathan dee