A Reunion of Ghosts

Author(s): Judith Claire Mitchell

Modern & Contemporary

'What if the man who invented chemical weapons was also a grandfather, and what if his great-grandchildren grew up to be three hilarious, introverted, deeply-haunted sisters? And what if those sisters co-wrote a fascinating, funny, and deeply sad 350-page suicide note? Then you'd have A REUNION OF GHOSTS.' Anthony Doerr Meet the Alter sisters: Lady, Vee and Delph. These three mordantly witty, complex women share their family's apartment on Manhattan's Upper West Side. They love each other fiercely, but being an Alter isn't easy. Bad luck is in their genes, passed down through the generations. Yet no matter what life throws at these siblings, they always have a wisecrack - and each other. In the waning days of 1999, the sisters decide it's time to close the circle of the Alter curse. But first, as the world counts down to the dawn of a new millennium, Lady, Vee and Delph must write the final chapter of a saga generations in the making - one that is inexorably intertwined with that of the twentieth century itself. Unspooling threads of history, personal memory and family lore, they weave a mesmerising account of their lives that stretches back decades to their great-grandfather, a brilliant scientist whose professional triumph became the sinister legacy that defines them. Magnificent and heartbreaking, A REUNION OF GHOSTS is an epic novel about three unforgettable women, bound to each other and their remarkable family through the blessings and the burdens bestowed by blood.


Product Information

'A rich portrait of a complicated family, at turns violent and hilarious, shot through with love and death and the scars that reappear generation after generation.' Emma Straub, New York Times bestselling author of "The Vacationers" Praise for 'The Last Day of the War': 'A bravura performance ... Intelligent ... blistering ...intermingling romance with history, [it's] Alan Furst with a dash of Tintin.' New York Times Book Review 'Engaging ... Page-turning ... The work of a very good novelist.' Chicago Tribune 'When people say they love sinking into a great novel, 'The Last Day of the War' is exactly the kind of book they crave. Judith Claire Mitchell's debut novel is an eloquent, sweeping, generous tale of war, love, history, deceit, and friendship, and it reads like the work of a seasoned novelist. Delicious, enveloping, and deeply affecting, 'The Last Day of the War' is the kind of book that will be passed among readers for years to come.' Thisbe Nissen, author of 'The Good People of New York' 'An extraordinary achievement: a book simultaneously full of humour and horror, both enthralling and poignant, and spilling over with heart.' Anthony Doerr, author of 'The Shell Collector'

Judith Claire Mitchell, the author of 'The Last Day of the War', is an English professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she directs the MFA Program in Creative Writing. A graduate of the Iowa Writers Workshop, she currently lives in Madison with her husband, the artist Don Friedlich.

General Fields

  • : 9780007594351
  • : HarperCollins Publishers
  • : HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
  • : 0.27
  • : January 2015
  • : 216mm X 135mm
  • : United Kingdom
  • : April 2015
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Judith Claire Mitchell
  • : Paperback
  • : 415
  • : 320