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Siri Hustvedt is the author of three previous novels, What I Loved, The Blindfold, and The Enchantment of Lily Dahl, as well as two collections of essays, A Plea for Eros and Mysteries of the Rectangle. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Paul Auster.

Also by Siri Hustvedt

NOVELS

What I Loved

The Blindfold

The Enchantment of Lily Dahl

NONFICTION

Mysteries of the Rectangle: Essays on Painting

A Plea for Eros

POETRY

Reading to You

Additional Praise for
The Sorrows of an American

“The narrative is breathtakingly clear, heartfelt, and involving. Hustvedt has written a novel of quiet strength.”

—Library Journal

“A cunningly disguised epic . . . Hustvedt’s gifted storytelling crams five generations into a compact, elegant story. . . . [She] deftly weaves the lot into fictional silk that shimmers with emotional contrast and intellectual honesty. . . . Hustvedt’s artistry is that she sails off into an emotional legacy and seduces us into sharing the journey with her.”

—The Sydney Morning Herald

“Filled with marvelous, eccentric characters who have intimations of impending disaster, [Hustvedt’s novels] unfold from their strange cocoons to reveal surprisingly ordinary folk. . . . Her prose is a joy to read.”

—The Australian

“Siri Hustvedt is a modern master. Her works belong among the most exciting and insightful contemporary novelists. . . . The Sorrows of an American is the kind of book that spoils you for other novels.”

—The Age

“[An] elegant meditation on familial grief, memory, and imagination. . . . The problem with trauma and grief is that it’s inexpressible—it is ‘outside story,’ as Erik says, it is ‘what we refuse to make part of our story.’ But solace can be found in the attempt at articulation.”

—Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

“Hustvedt has a keen eye for visual detail and a sure handle on narrative structure. Her well-crafted prose and impeccably paced story pull the reader along as her characters uncover the secrets of the dead and probe their own subconscious desires.”

—The Village Voice

“The Sorrows of an American is a pensive, subtle novel. Still, strong undercurrents of tension—psychological, emotional, and erotic—surge through its pages. Siri Hustvedt demonstrates an acute and honest willingness to engage with powerful, sometimes disturbing emotions. It’s that engagement that makes this book such an admirable work.”

—Bookreporter.com

“Poignant . . . the meditative tone of the book is poetry at its best. . . . Its cadence is often in sharp contrast to bustling New York City and its inhabitants. But it is in describing Erik’s pastoral Minnesota hometown that Hustvedt, a native Minnesotan, is at her best. . . . At its heart, The Sorrows of an American explores loneliness and untold stories. It asks the question, ‘How do we make amends with our memories?’ ”

—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“A lovely and gentle exploration of family life by a great writer . . . Hustvedt’s elegant style classifies her as a great storyteller.”

—The Sunday Telegraph (UK)