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The catch : a novel / Alison Fairbrother.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Random House, [2022]Copyright date: ©2022Edition: First editionDescription: 275 pages ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780593134290
  • 059313429X
Subject(s): Genre/Form: Summary: "Twentysomething Ellie thought she was her father's favorite child; she was sure he would leave her his most prized possession, a baseball with which they played catch, and which sat on his desk, as a kind of inspiration: her poet father's most famous poem was called "The Catch." But when her father's will is read, his children, including from other marriages, each receive a meaningful object, except Ellie, who receives a glow-in-the-dark tie rack that she has never seen before. The baseball that inspired her father's work is left to someone with initials no one recognizes, L.M. In her grief, Ellie wonders: Who could have meant more to her father than Ellie? Might it be that mysterious woman she saw slip into the back of the church during her father's funeral? Her job at a D.C. journalism startup and her relationship with a married lover become threatened as Ellie tries to deal with her rage and grief and come to terms with the mysterious man she thought she knew. Determined to try to understand her father's life and to overcome her sense of abandonment, Ellie sets out to track down L.M. In her quest she discovers many startling things about who her father really was and comes to realize the deeper meaning of that baseball, that poem "The Catch," and the many ways life catches us unawares"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Dr. James Carlson Library Fiction FAIRBROT ALISON Available 33111010986798
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library Fiction FAIRBROT ALISON Available 33111010849475
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS' CHOICE * A young woman searches for the truth about her father--and the secrets of her family--in this "big-hearted debut that absolutely crackles with smarts" (Emma Straub).

"A warm and funny debut novel . . . perceptive, wry, and witty."-- The New York Times

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: PopSugar

Two years out of college, Ellie Adler has a job in journalism, an older lover, and a circle of smart friends. Her beloved father, James, who has children from three marriages, unites the family with his gentle humor and charisma, but Ellie has always believed she is her father's favorite. When he suddenly dies, she finds herself devastated by the unexpected loss. Then, at the reading of his will, she learns that instead of leaving her his prized possession--a baseball that holds emotional resonance for them both--he has left her a seemingly ridiculous, even insulting gift. Worse, he's given the baseball to someone no one in the family has ever heard of.

In her grief, Ellie wonders who could have possibly meant more to her father than she did. Setting out to track this person down, she learns startling information about who her father really was and who she herself is becoming. Moving, witty, and unforgettable, The Catch is a story of the gifts we're given over the course of a lifetime, by family, friends, and strangers--the ones we want and the ones that catch us unawares.

"Twentysomething Ellie thought she was her father's favorite child; she was sure he would leave her his most prized possession, a baseball with which they played catch, and which sat on his desk, as a kind of inspiration: her poet father's most famous poem was called "The Catch." But when her father's will is read, his children, including from other marriages, each receive a meaningful object, except Ellie, who receives a glow-in-the-dark tie rack that she has never seen before. The baseball that inspired her father's work is left to someone with initials no one recognizes, L.M. In her grief, Ellie wonders: Who could have meant more to her father than Ellie? Might it be that mysterious woman she saw slip into the back of the church during her father's funeral? Her job at a D.C. journalism startup and her relationship with a married lover become threatened as Ellie tries to deal with her rage and grief and come to terms with the mysterious man she thought she knew. Determined to try to understand her father's life and to overcome her sense of abandonment, Ellie sets out to track down L.M. In her quest she discovers many startling things about who her father really was and comes to realize the deeper meaning of that baseball, that poem "The Catch," and the many ways life catches us unawares"-- Provided by publisher.

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