Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

The Best Kind of People

ebook
2 of 2 copies available
2 of 2 copies available

A finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and a national bestseller, Zoe Whittall's The Best Kind of People is a stunning tour de force about the unravelling of an all-American family.

George Woodbury, an affable teacher and beloved husband and father, is arrested for sexual impropriety at a prestigious prep school. His wife, Joan, vaults between denial and rage as the community she loved turns on her. Their daughter, Sadie, a popular over-achieving high school senior, becomes a social pariah. Their son, Andrew, assists in his father's defense, while wrestling with his own unhappy memories of his teen years. A local author tries to exploit their story, while an unlikely men's rights activist attempts to get Sadie onside their cause. With George locked up, how do the members of his family pick up the pieces and keep living their lives? How do they defend someone they love while wrestling with the possibility of his guilt?

With exquisite emotional precision, award-winning author Zoe Whittall explores issues of loyalty, truth, and the meaning of happiness through the lens of an all-American family on the brink of collapse.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      July 31, 2017
      Challenging the traditional crime story narrative, Whittal focuses on the aftershocks of a crime not from the victim’s perspective, but that of the family of the accused. Beloved by the community of Avalon Hills and revered as a teacher and hero, George Woodbury is arrested for sexual misconduct and attempted rape involving his students. His wife, Joan, and their daughter, Sadie, are paralyzed by shock, denial, and confusion. Eldest son Andrew, a lawyer in New York City, comes to his father’s defense, staunchly protesting the accusations against him. As months pass readers witness the psychological destruction of the family. Shunned by the community, tormented by threats and taunts, and trapped in a pattern of supporting their patriarch despite uncertainties regarding his innocence, each member of the family is ill-equipped to move forward. Sadie succumbs to apathy and anxiety, using drugs as an escape. Andrew is consumed by memories of his youth as a gay teen. Joan is unable to reconcile her conflicting feelings of loyalty and rage towards her husband. The prose is conversational; the reactions predictable; the ending hurried. Some plotlines don’t work, but Whittal brings realism and humanity to the story.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      January 22, 2018
      Campbell is a seasoned narrator with a lovely, lilting tone who creates easily recognized voices and mannerisms for the diverse characters in Whittall’s latest. Joan’s husband George is universally admired as an upstanding member of his community, as perpetual teacher of the year, and as a hero who saved his daughter and other children from a gun-wielding maniac. Then, suddenly, George lands in jail. He is alleged to have sexually abused more than one of the girls in his daughter’s high school class. Campbell hooks listeners in the gruesome swings between denial and rage experienced by George’s wife, Joan, his daughter, Sadie, and his son, Andrew. At times the characterization of Joan sounds too whiny for a character who otherwise comes across as a strong woman. Nevertheless, Campbell carries listeners convincingly and sympathetically through each family member’s struggle to come to terms with George’s culpability. A Ballantine hardcover.

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Loading