American Fantasy
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Penguin Books Ltd
Publishing:14th May '26
£18.99
This title is due to be published on 14th May, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
EMBARK ON THE JOYOUS AND NOSTALGIC JOURNEY OF A LIFETIME IN THE LATEST NOVEL FROM THENEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THIS TIME TOMORROW AND ALL ADULTS HERE
'SUCH A FUN, DELICIOUS, BIG-HEARTED BOOK' Taylor Jenkins Reid
'I CAN HARDLY REMEMBER THE LAST TIME I READ ANYTHING THAT BROUGHT ME SUCH PURE JOY' Ann Patchett
'I WAS COMPLETELY SWEPT AWAY BY MY LOVE FOR THE CHARACTERS' Coco Mellors
'HOPEFUL AND SO MUCH FUN. I CAN'T TELL YOU THE ENJOYMENT IT GAVE ME' Marian Keyes
'YOU WILL FEEL SO UNDERSTOOD BY THIS NOVEL' Rainbow Rowell
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Annie is on a journey straight back to her past.
When the American Fantasy cruise ship sets sail for a four-day themed voyage, aboard are all five members of a famous 1990s boyband, and three thousand women who have worshipped them since their youth.
Newly divorced and with an empty nest, Annie is on board as a lark to appease her sister. Once a diehard fan of the band as a teen, she now feels out of place amid the sea of bedazzling t-shirts bearing the singers’ faces. Yet when the lights go down, the cocktails are poured and the band starts singing, Annie finally reconnects to a long-submerged part of herself.
As she encounters Keith, the band’s slightly depressed, fifty-something lead singer – not just a celebrity but someone clearly in need of a friend – she feels like anything is possible.
But is the connection between Annie and Keith just a fantasy? Or is this the beginning of a new chapter for them both?
Full of laugh-out-loud reflections on fame, nostalgia, marriage and growing up, American Fantasy celebrates the magic of revisiting our youth, and the even greater magic of starting anew.
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PRAISE FOR EMMA STRAUB
'Has all the pleasures of reading one of Anne Tyler's compelling family portraits' NEW YORK TIMES
'Nostalgic, wise, funny, and filled with love' GABRIELLE ZEVIN on This Time Tomorrow
'Smart, compelling, irresistible' LIANE MORIARTY on Modern Lovers
'Her warmth and sense of humour electrify every page' NEW YORK MAGAZINE
American Fantasy is such a fun, delicious, big-hearted book. -- Taylor Jenkins Reid
I can hardly remember the last time I read anything that brought me such pure joy. I was up too late reading, then got up too early to go back to reading. All I wanted was American Fantasy. It brims with truth and humanity and insight, and it made me snort like a pig. I loved it. I think the entire country will love it. -- Ann Patchett
Wow, who knew that what my life was missing was a book about boats and boybands?! This is a treasure chest of a story, filled with Straub’s signature warmth, humour, compassion and insight. I rooted for these characters and worried about them, and by the end, much like the Talkers, I was completely swept away by my love for them. An unmitigated pleasure from start to finish. I did not want to return to dry land! -- Coco Mellors
So much fun but with such depth to the characters. Looking at midlife through Annie’s lens is a buoying experience. Even though it's super accurate about the reckonings of mid-life, the tone is blithe and hopeful, and that is so NEEDED right now. I can’t TELL you the enjoyment it gave me. -- Marian Keyes
Straub writes with such verve and sympathetic understanding of her characters . . . Reading this novel has all the pleasures of reading one of Anne Tyler's compelling family portraits * New York Times *
Straub writes beautifully and amusingly . . . hard to beat for sheer charm and gentle wit * Daily Mail *
Hugely talented . . . intelligent holiday reading * Woman's Hour, BBC Radio 4 *
A delicious novel about being a grown-up girl who once loved something very, very much. You don't have to be a fan of something to love American Fantasy, but if you've ever truly devoted yourself to a boy band or a TV show or even a series of books, you will feel so understood by this novel. -- Rainbow Rowell
Emma Straub [is] the queen of the smart-girl summer read * Entertainment Weekly *
It’s Straub, so you know it’s going to be funny, touching, and filled with family drama. * Glamour *
ISBN: 9780241453483
Dimensions: 240mm x 156mm x 40mm
Weight: 750g
400 pages