A Short Move
"This is definitely a good book for football fans. But it's a great book for fans of men and boys, so many of them caught up in the dark world of dreams come true."--New York Times Book Review
"A Short Move is an ode to both the singular glory and the heavy cost of greatness. Katherine Hill uses the rhythms of the sports novel to explore everything from the complexities of masculinity to the illusion that is the American Dream--and makes the form her own in the process. This is a deeply felt and beautifully expansive novel, one that captures vital dimensions of American life."--Laura van den Berg
"In Katherine Hill's audacious new novel, A Short Move, football is not only the subject, but a lens through which Hill examines contemporary life under capitalism. In Hill's sharply observed, brilliant prose, this ur-American game ultimately becomes a metaphor for human relationships, for the ecstasy and vulnerability within the body, and for life itself. This is a beautifully written novel about loss and endurance, about men and women doing the best they can with the gifts they've been given."--René Steinke, author of Friendswood
"A Short Move is an expansive and beautifully written novel. Through the story of star linebacker Mitch Wilkins, Katherine Hill explores the sacrifices men make to become legends, and the toll their fame takes on everyone close to them. This book is about more than just the complicated and contradictory life of a football star who wishes he were a better man; it is a profound depiction of masculinity, obsession, power, and the unexpected beauty we find even in our darkest hours."--Tom McAllister, author of How to Be Safe
"I submit that there is nothing you can't get to about American culture through sports, and I further submit, as evidence, Exhibit A: A Short Move, Katherine Hill's splendidly written and smartly observed second novel."--David Shields, director of Marshawn Lynch: A History and author of Black Planet: Facing Race During an NBA Season
"Fans of sweeping family epics will enjoy this dissection of fame, sports, and the drive for connection."--Publishers Weekly
In a small Virginia town in 1971, a high school football star runs out on his pregnant girlfriend. Six years later, that child meets his father for the first time and discovers the athlete within. Before long he is on the fast-track to the NFL, coached by a relentless Vietnam veteran uncle, nourished by a patient working mom, and defended by an ambitious girlfriend, all of whom tie their own hopes to his career. When he finally makes it, as Mitch "Wilk" Wilkins, New England's fearsome middle linebacker, it all seems preordained. Then, almost immediately, his life begins to fall apart: a billionaire owns him, his marriage is on the rocks, and his body is betraying him in stages. As Mitch and his wounded family press on, seeking meaning in a relentlessly incentive-driven and forward-moving life, the sacrifices necessary for success in sports--and in attaining the "American Dream"--are laid painfully and tragically bare.
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Praise for The Violet Hour, Katherine's first novel:
"Rewarding...Assured...as with the family members in Jonathan Tropper's This Is Where I Leave You...Elizabeth's relatives are not always well-behaved...[but] their petty grievances are as fun as real grief is devastating. Thanks to Hill's assured voice, the Fabricants' occasional flashes of harmony and humor will leave you with the charmed feeling of having seen a rainbow over the Beltway." (Elisabeth Egan The Washington Post Book World)
"A gripping debut..." (Sue Corbett, People)
"A bittersweet tale of breakup and forgiveness, this debut novel begins at the end of a marriage and journeys back through time to explore why the relationship slowly frayed." (Abbe Wright O, the Oprah magazine)
"The Violet Hour succeeds....The story of this family--at once alien and familiar, pitiable and impressive--is rendered with candor and economy." (Derek Askey Colorado Review)
"Hill is particularly capable as a manufacturer of taut, precise imagery, which she most effectively unleashes here as the book's first plot point takes its turn....Hill is most persuasive as a writer when she defines and explores relentless internal conflicts and divisions....The Violet Hour is filled with controlled and yet expansive prose." (Nathaniel Popkin Philadelphia Inquirer)
"In Hill's debut, members of a troubled family converge to celebrate a milestone, with unexpected results....Hill has produced an unusual retrospective of a family torn apart by divorce and infidelity and so keenly affected by the immediate events in their lives that they are only barely aware of what's transpiring around them....[A] disturbing story but one that offers a glimmer of hope." (Kirkus Reviews)
"Hill handles the intimacy of family ties with care and tenderness. Readers who enjoyed Jonathan Franzen's Freedom will relate as Hill's characters similarly and systematically unravel from each other." (Booklist)
"Katherine Hill's The Violet Hour reminds us that in every family mistakes are made--and redemption is possible. A wise, engrossing novel of familial love, betrayal, and forgiveness." (Kate Walbert, author of A Short History of Women)
"Like Sue Miller and Alice Hoffman, Katherine Hill limns the commonplace dreams and sorrows of the restless middle class. Ranging from post-grad San Francisco in the '70s to post-9/11 Manhattan, The Violet Hour is an old-fashioned family romance." (Stewart O'Nan, author of Last Night at the Lobster and Emily, Alone)
