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Published Aug 2017
320 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
From one of the most popular and bestselling authors of our time, a penetrating and hilarious new novel about sex, love, and identity on the frontlines of America's culture wars.
Eve Fletcher is trying to figure out what comes next. A forty-six-year-old divorcee whose beloved only child has just left for college, Eve is struggling to adjust to her empty nest when one night her phone lights up with a text message. Sent from an anonymous number, the mysterious sender tells Eve, "U R my MILF!" Over the months that follow, that message comes to obsess Eve. While leading her all-too-placid life - serving as Executive Director of the local senior center by day and taking a community college course on Gender and Society at night - Eve can't curtail her own interest in a porn website called MILFateria.com, which features the erotic exploits of ordinary, middle-aged women like herself. Before long, Eve's online fixations begin to spill over into real life, revealing new romantic possibilities that threaten to upend her quiet suburban existence.
Meanwhile, miles away at the state college, Eve's son Brendan - a jock and aspiring frat boy - discovers that his new campus isn't nearly as welcoming to his hard-partying lifestyle as he had imagined. Only a few weeks into his freshman year, Brendan is floundering in a college environment that challenges his white-dude privilege and shames him for his outmoded, chauvinistic ideas of sex. As the New England autumn turns cold, both mother and son find themselves enmeshed in morally fraught situations that come to a head on one fateful November night.
Sharp, witty, and provocative, Mrs. Fletcher is a timeless examination of sexuality, identity, parenthood, and the big clarifying mistakes people can make when they're no longer sure of who they are or where they belong.
"Readers of general fiction with adult content will enjoy this recommended title." - Library Journal
"More spot-on satire with heart and soul from a uniquely gifted writer." - Kirkus
"Perrotta (The Leftovers) covers the gamut of sexual issues in this made-for-TV comedy of errors: Brendan's former girlfriend rebels against being a sexual doormat; Brendan's roommate vows to stop sexually demeaning girls. Every character here exists in a state of sexual arousal, and the happy ending finds each of them in a satisfying relationship." - Publishers Weekly
"Perrotta is known for his send-ups of suburban stagnancy - and he certainly succeeds at that here - but the complete lack of likable characters might make this one a hard sell to readers new to his work." - Booklist
This information about Mrs. Fletcher was first featured
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Tom Perrotta is the bestselling author of nine works of fiction, including Election and Little Children, both of which were made into Oscar-nominated films, and The Leftovers, which was adapted into a critically acclaimed, Peabody Award-winning HBO series. His other books include Bad Haircut, The Wishbones, Joe College, The Abstinence Teacher, Nine Inches, Mrs. Fletcher, and Tracy Flick Can't Win. His work has been translated into a multitude of languages. Perrotta grew up in New Jersey and lives outside of Boston.
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