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A Novel
by Carson Markland
Bobby Kennedy was never meant to matter.
The seventh of nine children, he's long been overlooked by his father, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., who governs his children with the same firm hand that earned him a fortune, an ambassadorship, and enough clout to plant the seeds of an American political dynasty.
But when Bobby's eldest brother, the anointed heir, dies in a wartime mission, the burden to become the first Kennedy in Congress shifts to Jack, the next in line. Bobby—long ignored and underestimated—is forced to step up, especially as debilitating chronic pain threatens Jack's Senate seat and aspirations to higher office. With their sights eventually set on the White House, Bobby evolves into the ruthless operative behind the scenes—yet at what personal cost?
Throughout the chaos of campaign after campaign, Bobby finds an unexpected ally in his brother's wife, Jacqueline Bouvier. While Jackie smiles and waves for the cameras, in private, she leans on Bobby for understanding. Their friendship serves as a refuge from the public spotlight and private intrigue of the Kennedy family, but Jack's ongoing infidelity tests the boundaries of their loyalty, forcing Bobby and Jackie to each decide just how much they're willing to sacrifice for the dynasty's image.
Centering on one of the most significant political families of our time, Carson Markland's riveting, hopeful debut is about brothers, fathers and sons, winners and losers, loyalty and sacrifice, and the true cost of power. Looking to the past—a time marked by widespread paranoia, nationalism, and the clash between authoritarianism and democracy—while speaking to today, Men Like Us asks not only what we can do for our country, but what we ultimately owe to ourselves.
"With Men Like Us, Markland debuts fully-formed, a master storyteller who takes as her subject a place we used to know and hope to know again, that complex land we called America. Her Bobby is one of the great literary characters—part Hamlet, part Nick Carraway, part Wizard of Oz, yet wholly individual—and her understanding of the dynamic bonds between siblings places her among the finest writers of her generation. The Kennedys are looked at here with such honesty that the reader may feel they never knew the family at all. And yet with every pitch-perfect sentence, it is ever more clear that the author knows them and knows us as well. A masterpiece for our times." ―Brian Castleberry, author of Nine Shiny Objects and The Californians
"Carson Markland's debut novel, Men Like Us, is on its surface a book about the Kennedys. But more than anything, it's about big, messy families and what happens when too many siblings are vying for their parents' love and approval; it's about ambition and the trade-offs that come with that ambition; and it's about grief and regret and the loyalty we feel toward the people we grew up with. In prose that reads like a prayer, Markland tenderly portrays the relationship between two brothers, and the sacrifices they make for each other. The fact that we know how the story ends does nothing to lessen the impact of the quiet moments when these two men dream of what could be. I loved this book." ―Rachel Beanland, author of The Half Life and Florence Adler Swims Forever
This information about Men Like Us was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Carson Markland is a writer and filmmaker from South Carolina. Her work has been published in SmokeLong Quarterly, Breakwater Review, and Texlandia, and was featured in Best Microfiction Anthology and long-listed for the Disquiet International Literary Prize. She currently lives in New York City.
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