UChicagoReads: Fiction

UChicagoReads features books written by UChicago staff, faculty, students, and alumni or those written about University topics. Do you know of a book we should feature? Do you have a book of your own? Email us at uchicagointranet@uchicago.edu.

We understand that stress levels might be higher than usual. To help take your mind off things, this edition of UChicago Reads focuses on the world of fiction. Immerse yourself in the imaginative storytelling of UChicago faculty and alumni ranging from literary mystery to moving historical fiction to multigenerational family saga. Settle in with one (or all) of these works and let the power of fiction whisk you away for just a little while.

Foster Dade Explores the Cosmos

Nash Jenkins
© 2023 | 544 pages

Synopsis

Prep meets The Secret History in this sprawling debut novel about a tragic scandal at an American prep school, told in the form of a literary investigation through a distinctly millennial lens.

When Foster Dade arrives at Kennedy, an elite boarding school in New Jersey, the year is 2008. President Obama is beginning his first term; Vampire Weekend and Passion Pit bump from the newly debuted iPhone; and the internet is slowly emerging from its cocoon. Foster, a transfer student and anxious young man, soon finds himself in the company of Annabeth Whittaker and Jack Albright, Kennedy’s social powerhouses. Eighteen months later, following a tragic scandal that will irreparably change Kennedy, Foster will be expelled.

Our nameless narrator, who inherits Foster’s old dorm room, embarks on a yearslong investigation into what exactly happened. Through interviews with former classmates, Foster’s blog posts, playlists, and text archives, along with the narrator’s obsessive imagination, a story unfurls. Foster Dade Explores the Cosmos delves into privilege, power, the pitfalls of masculinity, and how we create the mythologies that give meaning to our lives.

About the authors

Nash Jenkins, AM’19, describes himself as a writer and academic-in-training. He’s currently working on his Ph.D. in the Program in Media, Technology, and Society at Northwestern University. He studies the politics of paranoia, with a particular focus on contemporary conspiracy theories and how they take shape online and through other media. Jenkins started his journey in academia at the University of Chicago’s Division of the Humanities where he earned his master’s degree. You can read his thesis, advised by Professor Patrick Jagoda, on David Foster Wallace’s fanboys and detractors and what they tell us about cultural attachments in an increasingly mediated present.

A River Runs Through It

Norman Maclean
© 1976 | 161 pages

Synopsis

Based on Norman Maclean's childhood experiences, A River Runs Through It has established itself as an American classic; it captivates readers with vivid descriptions of life along Montana's Big Blackfoot River and its near magical blend of fly fishing with the troubling affections of the heart. The story is a semi-autobiographical account of Maclean's relationship with his brother Paul and their upbringing in which "there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing." While recounting his brother's struggles with alcoholism and gambling addiction, Maclean also delves into how these issues have historically plagued his family, tracing their roots back to the early Scottish Gaelic-speaking Presbyterian ancestors on the Isle of Mull.

About the author

Norman Maclean, woodsman, scholar, teacher, and storyteller, grew up in the Western Rocky Mountains of Montana and worked for many years in logging camps and for the United States Forestry Service before beginning his academic career. He retired from the University of Chicago in 1973.

Banyan Moon

Thao Thai
© 2023 | 336 pages

Synopsis

Ann Tran’s life unravels when she learns of her grandmother Minh’s passing and faces an unexpected pregnancy. Leaving her seemingly perfect life behind, Ann returns to Florida to face her estranged mother, Huơng. Together, they inherit the crumbling Banyan House, where they must address their fractured relationship and uncertain futures.

Running parallel to Ann and Huong’s present, Minh’s past reveals itself, from her youth during the Vietnam War to her journey as an immigrant in America. A shocking discovery in the attic uncovers long-buried secrets, showing how Minh’s decisions have shaped their lives. Banyan Moon is a moving story of mothers and daughters, inheritance, and the lives we choose to make out of that inheritance.

About the author

Thao Thai (AM’22) is a writer and editor based in Ohio. She has written for Catapult, Eater, Cup of Jo, Scary Mommy, and other publications. Banyan Moon is her debut novel.