They both came to Chicago to start their lives over. They fell in love across a space as their windows looked across at each other. Elizabeth came from money, a long line of robber barons and she just doesn't want to be associated with that anymore. Jack came from the Midwest, growing up on a farm in a community where almost no one left. But he wants to be an artist and comes to Chicago to learn how to do that.
Twenty years on, little is left of that idealistic pair. They have a young child, a son that Elizabeth is sure is on the spectrum but Jack thinks is just sensitive and who looks at the world a little differently. Elizabeth is corporate in a job where she convinces people that placebos work as well as medicine. Jack is teaching art at a university but his artwork hasn't appreciably changed in more than a decade. They are about to move into a high end condo that their friend is building and that will take all their savings. Jack still loves Elizabeth madly but she's not so sure she loves Jack the same way anymore. As we discover their backstories, it becomes more clear why each is the way they are as adults.
Nathan Hill is an American author whose debut novel was published seven years ago. This is his second novel. The first, The Nix, was a major hit and won many awards. This novel captures the feel of the 1990's and of the present, how we change as we get older and how difficult it is to keep love alive. It talks about how hard it is to avoid the common misperceptions of the time and how the world changes for everyone. This book is recommended for literary fiction readers.