{"product_id":"the-altruists-9780525522737","title":"The Altruists","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eA New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Editors' Choice\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"[An] intelligent, funny, and remarkably assured first novel. . . . [Andrew Ridker establishes] himself as a big, promising talent. . . . Hilarious. . . . Astute and highly entertaining. . . . Outstanding.\" \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"With humor and warmth, Ridker explores the meaning of family and its inevitable baggage. . . . A relatable, unforgettable view of regular people making mistakes and somehow finding their way back to each other.\" --\u003ci\u003ePeople\u003c\/i\u003e (Book of the Week)\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"[A] strikingly assured debut. . . . A novel that grows more complex and more uproarious by the page, culminating in an unforgettable climax.\" --\u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly \u003c\/i\u003e(The Must List)\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eReal Simple\u003c\/i\u003e Best Book of the Year (So Far)\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eA vibrant and perceptive novel about a father's plot to win back his children's inheritance\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eArthur Alter is in trouble. A middling professor at a Midwestern college, he can't afford his mortgage, he's exasperated his much-younger girlfriend, and his kids won't speak to him. And then there's the money--the small fortune his late wife, Francine, kept secret, which she bequeathed directly to his children. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThose children are Ethan, an anxious recluse living off his mother's money on a choice plot of Brooklyn real estate, and Maggie, a would-be do-gooder trying to fashion herself a noble life of self-imposed poverty. On the verge of losing the family home, Arthur invites his children back to St. Louis under the guise of a reconciliation. But in doing so, he unwittingly unleashes a Pandora's box of age-old resentments and long-buried memories--memories that orbit Francine, the matriarch whose life may hold the key to keeping them together. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSpanning New York, Paris, Boston, St. Louis, and a small desert outpost in Zimbabwe, \u003ci\u003eThe Altruists\u003c\/i\u003e is a darkly funny (and ultimately tender) family saga that confronts the divide between baby boomers and their millennial offspring. It's a novel about money, privilege, politics, campus culture, dating, talk therapy, rural sanitation, infidelity, kink, the American beer industry, and what it means to be a \"good person.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Penguin Publishing Group\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/03\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780525522737\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 336\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.60lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.10h x 5.50w x 1.00d","brand":"Andrew Ridker","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44576668647605,"sku":"9780525522737","price":18.7,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_f719c2cf-16b2-4348-aee9-0d16b7810f78.jpg?v=1724176277","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-altruists-9780525522737","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}