Fathers ‘& Sons’ struggle to connect in new novel
Author to launch book in Park Slope
The ghost of J.D. Salinger hovers over David Gilbert’s new novel, “& Sons” (Random House). Set amid the wealth and privilege of Manhattan’s toniest neighborhood, the novel centers on A.N. Dyer, a reclusive author best known for his coming-of-age story set in a boys’ prep school. The author will appear in Brooklyn on July 25 for a launch party and signing at Park Slope’s Community Bookstore.
When the novel begins, Dyer is preparing to deliver a eulogy for his lifelong friend Charles Henry Topping at a church in the heart of the blue-blood district that Gilbert knows and writes about so well.
The Dyers and the Toppings have been friends for years, sending their children to the same schools and summering together in the Hamptons. St. James’ Church, the Buckley School, Exeter, Yale — Gilbert nails the taxonomy of class and wealth like a younger Tom Wolfe.