Explanation for Everything: A Novel
As she did in the New York Times bestselling novel A Friend of the Family, Lauren Grodstein has written another provocative morality tale, this time dissecting the permeable line between faith and doubt.
Pre-order author Grodstein's new can't-be-missed novel, We Must Not Think of Ourselves, coming November 28, 2023. A truly unforgettable story about the fight for life--and love--in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. College professor Andy Waite is picking up the pieces of a shattered life. Between his research in evolutionary biology and caring for his young daughters, his days are reassuringly safe, if a bit lonely. But when Melissa Potter--charismatic, unpredictable, and devout--asks him to advise her study of intelligent design, he agrees. Suddenly, the world that Andy has fought to rebuild is rocked to its foundations. "A well-crafted story of wayward souls searching for forgiveness, healing and personal truth." --Family Circle "Grodstein handles everything with a subtle wit, managing to skewer both the ultraconservative and the ultraliberal without making either seem absolutely wrong . . . Reminiscent of Carolyn Parkhurst's Dogs of Babel." --Booklist "Finding or losing God proves to be an equally destabilizing tectonic shift, and this novel is full of them . . . Their cumulative force will leave you happily unsteady, and moved." --The Washington Post "A master storyteller . . . Tackles the tough topics: healing after loss, the relevance and possibility of the divine in our lives, the gilded shackles of academic life, and life in Southern New Jersey--all while always being terrifically entertaining." --Ben Schrank, author of Love Is a Canoe "Engrossing . . . You'll likely close the book with a new perspective on faith, justice, mercy, and the difficulty of holding a moral high ground." --Bust "A novel of ideas and a deeply felt story of love, loss, hope, and the healing powers of forgiveness . . . A provocative, moving story, and a beautifully written one." --Dani Shapiro, author of DevotionBUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
“I find this story quite interesting because Anita Lim found faith where I have lost mine, and yet both of us seem to have been driven to despair by the change in our beliefs.”
What I liked: I loved the academic setting. I am currently a student getting my BA and I could see myself as a professor one day, so the setting worked well for me.
What wasn’t for me: This is a sad book and I don’t feel anyone gets any resolution in the end. And between the battle of evolution and creationism in this book - evolution seems to “win,” but it makes everyone depressed and hopeless…so I’m not sure what Grodstein was trying to say?
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