Random House New Releases - Fiction - Family Life - Between May 21, 2012 and June 20, 2013.

Donde Estas, Bernadette by Maria Semple

2013-06-18T00:30:00-05:00

Donde Estas, Bernadette
Written by Maria Semple

In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods by Matt Bell

2013-06-18T00:30:00-05:00

In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods
Written by Matt Bell

In this epic, mythical debut novel, a newly-wed couple escapes the busy confusion of their homeland for a distant and almost-uninhabited lakeshore. They plan to live there simply, to fish the lake, to trap the nearby woods, and build a house upon the dirt between where they can raise a family. But as their every pregnancy fails, the child-obsessed husband begins to rage at this new world: the song-spun objects somehow created by his wife's beautiful singing voice, the giant and sentient bear that rules the beasts of the woods, the second moon weighing down the fabric of their starless sky, and the labyrinth of memory dug into the earth beneath their house.

This novel, from one of our most exciting young writers, is a powerful exploration of the limits of parenthood and marriage—and of what happens when a marriage’s success is measured solely by the children it produces, or else the sorrow that marks their absence.

In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods by Matt Bell

2013-06-18T00:30:00-05:00

In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods
Written by Matt Bell

In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods tells the story of a newly married couple who take up a lonely existence in the title's mythical location. In this blank and barren plot far from the world they've known, they mean to start the family the unnamed husband wants so obsessively. But their every pregnancy fails, and as their grief swells, the husband─a hot-tempered and impatient fisherman and trapper─attempts to prove his dominion in other ways, emptying both the lake and the woods of their many beasts. As the years pass, the wife changes too, her suddenly powerful voice singing some new series of objects into being, including a threatening moon hung above their house, its doomed weight already slowly falling, bending their now-starless sky.

In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods is about marriage, parenthood, and the dreams parents have for their children─as well as what happens to a marriage whose success is measured solely by the children it produces, or else the grief that marks their absence.

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

2013-06-11T00:30:00-05:00

Crazy Rich Asians
Written by Kevin Kwan

Crazy Rich Asians is the outrageously funny debut novel about three super-rich, pedigreed Chinese families and the gossip, backbiting, and scheming that occurs when the heir to one of the most massive fortunes in Asia brings home his ABC (American-born Chinese) girlfriend to the wedding of the season.
When Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home, long drives to explore the island, and quality time with the man she might one day marry. What she doesn't know is that Nick's family home happens to look like a palace, that she'll ride in more private planes than cars, and that with one of Asia's most eligible bachelors on her arm, Rachel might as well have a target on her back. Initiated into a world of dynastic splendor beyond imagination, Rachel meets Astrid, the It Girl of Singapore society; Eddie, whose family practically lives in the pages of the Hong Kong socialite magazines; and Eleanor, Nick's formidable mother, a woman who has very strong feelings about who her son should--and should not--marry. Uproarious, addictive, and filled with jaw-dropping opulence, Crazy Rich Asians is an insider's look at the Asian JetSet; a perfect depiction of the clash between old money and new money; between Overseas Chinese and Mainland Chinese; and a fabulous novel about what it means to be young, in love, and gloriously, crazily rich.

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

2013-06-11T00:30:00-05:00

Crazy Rich Asians
Written by Kevin Kwan

Crazy Rich Asians by Lynn Chen

2013-06-11T00:30:00-05:00

Crazy Rich Asians
Written by Kevin Kwan
Read by Lynn Chen

Crazy Rich Asians by Lynn Chen

2013-06-11T00:30:00-05:00

Crazy Rich Asians
Written by Kevin Kwan
Read by Lynn Chen

In Between Days by Andrew Porter

2013-06-04T00:30:00-05:00

In Between Days
Written by Andrew Porter

“Andrew Porter is a born storyteller . . . He makes his own space instantly and invites you in. Hats off!” —Barry Hannah

From a commanding new voice in fiction comes a novel as perceptive as it is generous: a portrait of an American family trying to cope in our world today, a story of choices and doubts and transgressions.

The Hardings are teetering on the brink. Elson—once one of Houston’s most promising architects, who never quite lived up to expectations—is recently divorced from his wife of thirty years, Cadence. Their grown son, Richard, is still living at home: driving his mother’s minivan, working at a local coffee shop, resisting the career as a writer that beckons him. But when Chloe Harding gets kicked out of her East Coast college, for reasons she can’t explain to either her parents or her older brother, the Hardings’ lives start to unravel. Chloe returns to Houston, but the dangers set in motion back at school prove inescapable. Told with piercing insight, taut psychological suspense, and the wisdom of a true master of character, this is a novel about the vagaries of love and family, about betrayal and forgiveness, about the possibility and impossibility of coming home.

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

2013-06-04T00:30:00-05:00

Tell the Wolves I'm Home A Novel
Written by Carol Rifka Brunt

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY
The Wall Street Journal • O: The Oprah Magazine • BookPage • Kirkus Reviews • Booklist • School Library Journal

NAMED A FAVORITE READ BY GILLIAN FLYNN

WINNER OF THE ALEX AWARD

In this striking literary debut, Carol Rifka Brunt unfolds a moving story of love, grief, and renewal as two lonely people become the unlikeliest of friends and find that sometimes you don’t know you’ve lost someone until you’ve found them.

1987. There’s only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that’s her uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her older sister, June can only be herself in Finn’s company; he is her godfather, confidant, and best friend. So when he dies, far too young, of a mysterious illness her mother can barely speak about, June’s world is turned upside down. But Finn’s death brings a surprise acquaintance into June’s life—someone who will help her to heal, and to question what she thinks she knows about Finn, her family, and even her own heart.

At Finn’s funeral, June notices a strange man lingering just beyond the crowd. A few days later, she receives a package in the mail. Inside is a beautiful teapot she recognizes from Finn’s apartment, and a note from Toby, the stranger, asking for an opportunity to meet. As the two begin to spend time together, June realizes she’s not the only one who misses Finn, and if she can bring herself to trust this unexpected friend, he just might be the one she needs the most.

An emotionally charged coming-of-age novel, Tell the Wolves I’m Home is a tender story of love lost and found, an unforgettable portrait of the way compassion can make us whole again.

Praise for Tell the Wolves I’m Home

“A dazzling debut novel.”—O: The Oprah Magazine

“This compassionate and vital novel will rivet readers until the very end. . . . The narrative is as tender and raw as an exposed nerve, pulsing with the sharpest agonies and ecstasies of the human condition.”—BookPage

“Tremendously moving.”—The Wall Street Journal

“Transcendent . . . Peopled by characters who will live in readers’ imaginations long after the final page is turned, Brunt’s novel is a beautifully bittersweet mixture of heartbreak and hope.”—Booklist (starred review)

“Carol Rifka Brunt establishes herself as an emerging author to watch.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Touching and ultimately hopeful.”—People

Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more.

The Elephant Keepers' Children by Peter Hoeg

2013-05-21T00:30:00-05:00

The Elephant Keepers' Children
Written by Peter Hoeg

Trade Paperback, 512 pages | Other Press | Fiction - Religious; Fiction - Literary; Fiction - Family Life | $16.95 | May 21, 2013 | 978-1-59051-635-5 (1-59051-635-4)

My Fathers' Ghost Is Climbing in the Rain by Mara Faye Lethem

2013-05-21T00:30:00-05:00

My Fathers' Ghost Is Climbing in the Rain
Written by Patricio Pron
Translated by Mara Faye Lethem

eBook, 224 pages | Knopf | Fiction - Literary; Fiction - Family Life; Fiction - Cultural Heritage | $11.99 | May 21, 2013 | 978-0-307-96227-0 (0-307-96227-X)

The anticipated American debut of one of Granta’s Best Young Spanish-Language Novelists: a daring, deeply affecting novel about the secrets buried in the past of an Argentine family.

A young writer, living abroad, makes the journey home to South America to say good-bye to his dying father. In his parents’ house, he finds a cache of documents—articles, maps, photographs—and unwittingly begins to unearth his father’s obsession with the disappearance of a local man. Suddenly he comes face-to-face with the ghosts of Argentina’s dark political past and with the long-hidden memories of his family’s underground resistance against an oppressive military regime. As the fragments of the narrator’s investigation fall into place—revealing not only a part of his father’s life he had tried to forget but also the legacy of an entire generation—this audacious novel tells a completely original story of corruption and responsibility, history and remembrance.

My Fathers' Ghost Is Climbing in the Rain by Mara Faye Lethem

2013-05-21T00:30:00-05:00

My Fathers' Ghost Is Climbing in the Rain
Written by Patricio Pron
Translated by Mara Faye Lethem

Hardcover, 224 pages | Knopf | Fiction - Literary; Fiction - Family Life; Fiction - Cultural Heritage | $24.00 | May 21, 2013 | 978-0-307-70068-1 (0-307-70068-2)

Three Strong Women by Marie NDiaye

2013-05-21T00:30:00-05:00

Three Strong Women A novel
Written by Marie NDiaye

Trade Paperback, 304 pages | Vintage | Fiction - Literary; Fiction - Contemporary Women; Fiction - Family Life | $15.00 | May 21, 2013 | 978-0-307-74133-2 (0-307-74133-8)

A New York Times Notable Book
A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of 2012
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2012

From Marie NDiaye, the first black woman to win the Prix Goncourt, a harrowing and beautiful novel of the travails of West African immigrants in France.

The story of three women who say no: Norah, a French-born lawyer who finds herself in Senegal, summoned by her estranged father to save another victim of his paternity; Fanta, who leaves a contented life as a teacher in Dakar to follow her boyfriend back to France, where his depression and dislocation poison everything; and Khady, a penniless widow put out by her husband's family with nothing but the name of a distant cousin in France. As these three lives intertwine, each woman manages an astonishing feat of self-preservation against those who have made themselves the fastest-growing and most-reviled people in Europe. In Marie NDiaye's stunning narration we see the progress by which ordinary women discover unimagined reserves of strength.

He's Gone: A Novel by Deb Caletti

2013-05-14T00:30:00-05:00

He's Gone: A Novel
Written by Deb Caletti

Trade Paperback, 352 pages | Bantam | Fiction - Contemporary Women; Fiction - Mystery & Detective - Women Sleuths; Fiction - Family Life | $15.00 | May 14, 2013 | 978-0-345-53435-4 (0-345-53435-2)

From National Book Award finalist Deb Caletti comes an intensely gripping story about love, loss, marriage, and secrets—perfect for readers of Jodi Picoult, Kristin Hannah, and Anna Quindlen.

“One of the best books I’ve read all year.”—Barbara O’Neal, author of The Garden of Happy Endings

“What do you think happened to your husband, Mrs. Keller?”

The Sunday morning starts like any other, aside from the slight hangover. Dani Keller wakes up on her Seattle houseboat, a headache building behind her eyes from the wine she drank at a party the night before. But on this particular Sunday morning, she’s surprised to see that her husband, Ian, is not home. As the hours pass, Dani fills her day with small things. But still, Ian does not return. Irritation shifts to worry, worry slides almost imperceptibly into panic. And then, like a relentless blackness, the terrible realization hits Dani: He’s gone.

As the police work methodically through all the logical explanations—he’s hurt, he’s run off, he’s been killed—Dani searches frantically for a clue as to whether Ian is in fact dead or alive. And, slowly, she unpacks their relationship, holding each moment up to the light: from its intense, adulterous beginning, to the grandeur of their new love, to the difficulties of forever. She examines all the sins she can—and cannot—remember. As the days pass, Dani will plumb the depths of her conscience, turning over and revealing the darkest of her secrets in order to discover the hard truth—about herself, her husband, and their lives together.

“A thought-provoking and moving exploration.”—New York Times bestselling author Erica Bauermeister

Look for special features inside. Join the Circle for author chats and more.

He's Gone: A Novel by Deb Caletti

2013-05-14T00:30:00-05:00

He's Gone: A Novel
Written by Deb Caletti

eBook, 352 pages | Bantam | Fiction - Contemporary Women; Fiction - Mystery & Detective - Women Sleuths; Fiction - Family Life | $9.99 | May 14, 2013 | 978-0-345-53436-1 (0-345-53436-0)

NOT THE END OF THE WORLD by Rebecca Stowe

2013-05-08T00:30:00-05:00

NOT THE END OF THE WORLD
Written by Rebecca Stowe

eBook, 176 pages | Pantheon | Fiction - Family Life; Fiction - Literary; Fiction - Coming Of Age | $12.99 | May 8, 2013 | 978-0-307-83216-0 (0-307-83216-3)

Not the End of the World signals the arrival of a major new voice in contemporary American fiction. In much the same way that Kaye Gibbons burst upon the growing literary scene with her first novel about growing up, Ellen Foster, so has Rebecca Stowe, who has already been compared to Carson McCullers and J. D. Salinger. She gives us a painful and hilarious first-personal novel of a bright, troubled girl that captures, as perhaps no other book does, the angst-ridden childhood of many a woman of the Baby Boom generation.

Living in affluent North Bay, Michigan, in the early 1960s, in a house with its own beach, Maggie Pittsfield (daughter of Robert “Sweet is My Middle Name” Pittsfield, owner of a local candy factory) is twelve years old. Unique for her corrosive perspicacity and weird precociousness, she is already deeply depressed and alienated . . . from the eccentricity of her family, the sexual perversity of her school, and the nightmarish banality of her mates. “‘It’s a wonder you have any friends.’ Mother used to say when I still had some. ‘You must become a different person when you leave the house.’ Actually, I was six different people . . . Grandmother said I was possessed by the devil and unless we got him out by my thirteenth birthday, my soul would be lost forever, at least what was left of it. . . .”

In Not the End of the World Rebecca Store render’s Maggie’s splintered personality and formidable aggression, which threatens to implode in tragedy, with painful precision and humor.

The Lost Husband by Katherine Center

2013-05-07T00:30:00-05:00

The Lost Husband A Novel
Written by Katherine Center

Trade Paperback, 304 pages | Ballantine Books | Fiction - Contemporary Women; Fiction - Family Life; Fiction - Humorous | $15.00 | May 7, 2013 | 978-0-345-50794-5 (0-345-50794-0)

Perfect for fans of Jennifer Weiner and Emily Giffin, this tender and heartwarming novel explores the trials of losing what matters most—and how there’s always more than we can imagine left to find.

Dear Libby, It occurs to me that you and your two children have been living with your mother for—Dear Lord!—two whole years, and I’m writing to see if you'd like to be rescued.

The letter comes out of the blue, and just in time for Libby Moran, who—after the sudden death of her husband, Danny—went to stay with her hypercritical mother. Now her crazy Aunt Jean has offered Libby an escape: a job and a place to live on her farm in the Texas Hill Country. Before she can talk herself out of it, Libby is packing the minivan, grabbing the kids, and hitting the road.

Life on Aunt Jean’s goat farm is both more wonderful and more mysterious than Libby could have imagined. Beyond the animals and the strenuous work, there is quiet—deep, country quiet. But there is also a shaggy, gruff (though purportedly handsome, under all that hair) farm manager with a tragic home life, a formerly famous feed-store clerk who claims she can contact Danny “on the other side,” and the eccentric aunt Libby never really knew but who turns out to be exactly what she’s been looking for. And despite everything she’s lost, Libby soon realizes how much more she’s found. She hasn’t just traded one kind of crazy for another: She may actually have found the place to bring her little family—and herself—back to life.

Praise for The Lost Husband

“A sweet tale about creating the family you need.”—People

“A heartwarming novel that explores the trials of losing what matters most.”—USA Today

“[Katherine] Center writes endearingly of love and family in her fourth novel, with lessons about loss, gain, standing up for oneself, and accepting that your best is good enough. Fans of well-crafted romantic women’s fiction won’t be disappointed.”—Booklist

“A novel about family, love and forgiveness . . . heart-rending and heartwarming.”—Kirkus Reviews

The Lost Husband by Katherine Center

2013-05-07T00:30:00-05:00

The Lost Husband A Novel
Written by Katherine Center

eBook, 304 pages | Ballantine Books | Fiction - Contemporary Women; Fiction - Family Life; Fiction - Humorous | $9.99 | May 7, 2013 | 978-0-345-53891-8 (0-345-53891-9)

Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead

2013-05-07T00:30:00-05:00

Seating Arrangements
Written by Maggie Shipstead

Trade Paperback, 320 pages | Vintage | Fiction - Contemporary Women; Fiction - Family Life | $15.00 | May 7, 2013 | 978-0-307-74395-4 (0-307-74395-0)

A San Francisco Chronicle and Daily Candy Best Book of the Year
Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for First Fiction
Winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize

The Van Meters have gathered at their family retreat on the island of Waskeke to celebrate the marriage of daughter Daphne to the impeccably appropriate Greyson Duff. The weekend is full of champagne, salt air and practiced bonhomie, but long-buried discontent and simmering lust stir beneath the surface.

Winn Van Meter, father of the bride, is not having a good time. Barred from the exclusive social club he’s been eyeing since birth, he’s also tormented by an inappropriate crush on Daphne’s beguiling bridesmaid, Agatha, and the fear that his daughter, Livia—recently heartbroken by the son of his greatest rival—is a too-ready target for the wiles of Greyson’s best man. When old resentments, a beached whale and an escaped lobster are added to the mix, the wedding that should have gone off with military precision threatens to become a spectacle of misbehavior.

Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros

2013-04-30T00:30:00-05:00

Caramelo
Written by Sandra Cisneros

NOW AVAILABLE IN EBOOK FOR THE FIRST TIME

Every year, Ceyala "Lala" Reyes' family--aunts, uncles, mothers, fathers, and Lala's six older brothers--packs up three cars and, in a wild ride, drive from Chicago to the Little Grandfather and Awful Grandmother's house in Mexico City for the summer. Struggling to find a voice above the boom of her brothers and to understand her place on this side of the border and that, Lala is a shrewd observer of family life. But when she starts telling the Awful Grandmother's life story, seeking clues to how she got to be so awful, grandmother accuses Lala of exaggerating. Soon, a multigenerational family narrative turns into a whirlwind exploration of storytelling, lies, and life. Like the cherished rebozo, or shawl, that has been passed down through generations of Reyes women, Caramelo is alive with the vibrations of history, family, and love.

Random House New Releases - Fiction - Family Life - Between May 21, 2012 and June 20, 2013.

Donde Estas, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Donde Estas, Bernadette Written by Maria Semple

In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods by Matt Bell

In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods Written by Matt Bell

In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods by Matt Bell

In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods Written by Matt Bell

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Crazy Rich Asians Written by Kevin Kwan

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Crazy Rich Asians Written by Kevin Kwan

Crazy Rich Asians by Lynn Chen

Crazy Rich Asians Written by Kevin Kwan Read by Lynn Chen

Crazy Rich Asians by Lynn Chen

Crazy Rich Asians Written by Kevin Kwan Read by Lynn Chen

In Between Days by Andrew Porter

In Between Days Written by Andrew Porter

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

Tell the Wolves I'm Home A NovelWritten by Carol Rifka Brunt

The Elephant Keepers' Children by Peter Hoeg

The Elephant Keepers' Children Written by Peter Hoeg

My Fathers' Ghost Is Climbing in the Rain by Mara Faye Lethem

My Fathers' Ghost Is Climbing in the Rain Written by Patricio Pron Translated by Mara Faye Lethem

My Fathers' Ghost Is Climbing in the Rain by Mara Faye Lethem

My Fathers' Ghost Is Climbing in the Rain Written by Patricio Pron Translated by Mara Faye Lethem

Three Strong Women by Marie NDiaye

Three Strong Women A novelWritten by Marie NDiaye

He's Gone: A Novel by Deb Caletti

He's Gone: A Novel Written by Deb Caletti

He's Gone: A Novel by Deb Caletti

He's Gone: A Novel Written by Deb Caletti

NOT THE END OF THE WORLD by Rebecca Stowe

NOT THE END OF THE WORLD Written by Rebecca Stowe

The Lost Husband by Katherine Center

The Lost Husband A NovelWritten by Katherine Center

The Lost Husband by Katherine Center

The Lost Husband A NovelWritten by Katherine Center

Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead

Seating Arrangements Written by Maggie Shipstead

Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros

Caramelo Written by Sandra Cisneros

Donde Estas, Bernadette
Written by Maria Semple

In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods
Written by Matt Bell

In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods
Written by Matt Bell

Crazy Rich Asians
Written by Kevin Kwan

Crazy Rich Asians
Written by Kevin Kwan

Crazy Rich Asians
Written by Kevin Kwan
Read by Lynn Chen

Crazy Rich Asians
Written by Kevin Kwan
Read by Lynn Chen

In Between Days
Written by Andrew Porter

Tell the Wolves I'm Home A Novel
Written by Carol Rifka Brunt

The Elephant Keepers' Children
Written by Peter Hoeg

My Fathers' Ghost Is Climbing in the Rain
Written by Patricio Pron
Translated by Mara Faye Lethem

My Fathers' Ghost Is Climbing in the Rain
Written by Patricio Pron
Translated by Mara Faye Lethem

Three Strong Women A novel
Written by Marie NDiaye

He's Gone: A Novel
Written by Deb Caletti

He's Gone: A Novel
Written by Deb Caletti

NOT THE END OF THE WORLD
Written by Rebecca Stowe

The Lost Husband A Novel
Written by Katherine Center

The Lost Husband A Novel
Written by Katherine Center

Seating Arrangements
Written by Maggie Shipstead

Caramelo
Written by Sandra Cisneros