Cover

ACCLAIM FOR ALLAN GURGANUS’S

THE PRACTICAL HEART

“This collection places Gurganus in the pantheon of America’s best storytellers.”

—Library Journal

“A provocative, eloquent look at our national character, of who and what we are…. Full of charm and good humor…. A demonstration of both extraordinary range and Gurganus’s considerable storytelling skills.”

—Houston Chronicle

“Lyrical and moving…. Gurganus explores emotions, sexual awakenings and what people will sacrifice for the ones they love.”

—The Denver Post

“Elegiac and tributary…. One of contemporary fiction’s most ebullient and versatile stylists strikes again—straight to the heart.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“Nostalgia, sentiment and admiration are qualities rare in contemporary fiction. Gurganus may be the writer who presents these most effectively.”

—The Star-Ledger

“Brilliant … subtle … masterly renderings.”

—Review of Contemporary Fiction

“A superlative writer at the wheel navigates [The Practical Heart’s] many twists and turns with manic glee and stylistic assurance.”

—Out

“[Gurganus] sings the odd, sad, quavery grace notes that come when we follow our hearts where they lead.”

—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Title Page

Dedication

For Jane Holding,
friend, sculptor, mother of sons,
gardener and garden

The first obligation of a gentleman is to dream.

—OSCAR WILDE

This census is the first to let U.S. citizens choose from among seven racial categories: “White,” “Black,” “Asian or Pacific Islander,” “American Indian or Alaska Native,” “Multiracial,” “Hispanic,” or “Other.” 823 Americans checked all seven racial boxes.

—USA Today

Q: How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
A: Practice, practice, practice.

—OLD JOKE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am honored to thank my generous first readers: Mona Simpson, Joanne Meschery, Erica Eisdorfer and Dave Deming, Daisy Thorp, Charles Millard, Andrea Simon, Danny Kaiser, George Eatman, Michael Pollan and Judith Belzer, Helen Miranda Wilson and Timothy Woodman. Terry Smith was the gifted small-press publisher who first offered my novella The Practical Heart. Like so many other important presses, his has been closed because of fiscal crises. I was honored to work with him. Cecil Wooten, Latinist and friend, gave invaluable help to Saint Monster.

I’m indebted to my brave grandmother and great-aunts, The Fraser Girls, who first inspired (and then demanded) The Practical Heart.

All my books have been designed by two wizards. Peter Andersen guides all the interior decisions with a reader’s heart and an artist’s eyes. Chip Kidd has done my covers with psychic skill and a seeming ease Mozartian. I thank them both for having the wit to read those books they help to shape. Increasingly a rarity, I believe.

My assistant, Mona Sinquefield, has braved the no-man’s-land between caffeine highs and technophobic lows. Her belief and company proved essential.

My agent, Amanda Urban, has shown such immediate and long-range faith in my work. Her genius for detail can rival any novelist’s.

And, finally, my editor, Gary Fisketjon, granted me his clarion judgment, long patience, and consoling presence.

Thank you, friends.

THE
PRACTICAL
HEART

For Michael Pollan,
and
for Jack Fullilove

(1917–2000)

At last, the distinguished thing.

—HENRY JAMES, final words