Did other novels or authors influence the writing of Reunion? If so, which ones?
The epigraph comes from an amazingly precise John Cheever story that I adore—one I teach every year, so it’s always in the back of my mind—but I’d be lying if I said his story directly influenced Reunion. One day, when I was writing this novel, my husband asked what I was working on. I told him. He said, “I know what you should call it.” I said, “What?” He said, “You have to give me credit, though.” He’s a writer and a teacher, also. I said, “Sure, but only if I use it.” He said, “Reunion, after the Cheever story.” It was perfect.
More directly, though, I might say that Jess Walter’s The Financial Lives of Poets or Francine Prose’s My New American Life influenced Reunion. I read those books back to back. They’re both heartbreaking and hilarious. They filled me with an intense energy and giddiness. I knew I wanted to write something funny, fast, and fiscally oriented.
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Contents
Cover
Title Page
Welcome
Dedication
Epigraph
1: on the airplane
2: there are three of us
3: arriving in Chicago
4: Peter comes to the airport
5: flight to Atlanta
6: asleep on the plane
7: concourse to concourse
8: Nell and Elliot arrive
9: taxi to Dad’s place
10: inside Dad’s place
11: the back porch
12: going to bed at Dad’s place
13: a bad dream
14: Sasha comes to fetch us
15: at the funeral home
16: a momentary detour: finances explained
17: picking up Mindy
18: driving back to Sasha’s place
19: the back porch, before dinner
20: cooking dinner, getting drunk
21: the ex-wives, explained
22: Billy calls
23: showering after dinner
24: a proposal
25: a memory!
26: the back porch before bed
27: morning, kitchen, eggs
28: grocery shopping with Mindy
29: Nell figures things out, sort of
30: the party begins
31: Dad’s favorite
33: a partial list of the secrets I keep track of while I lie awake in bed most nights
34: the speeches begin and end
35: after the party, doing dishes
36: things come to a head in the kitchen
37: waking up in the middle of the night
38: alone in the bathroom again
39: Peter calls
40: the silent treatment
41: goodbye
42: cooking dinner
43: movie time
44: a minor revelation
45: in bed
46: the end
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by Hannah Pittard
Reading Group Guide
Newsletters
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2014 by Hannah Pittard
Reading Group Guide copyright © 2014 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
Cover design by Catherine Casalino
Cover photography © Patryce Bak / Photonica
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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First ebook edition: October 2014
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ISBN 978-1-4555-5360-0
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