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A Hilarious Stand-Alone Family Drama of Midlife Crisis, Love, Loss, and Revenge (P.S.)
by Matthew Norman
Tom Violet always thought that by the time he turned thirty-five, he'd have everything going for him.
Fame. Fortune. A beautiful wife. A satisfying career as a successful novelist. A happy dog to greet him at the end of the day.
The reality, though, is far different. He's got a wife, but their problems are bigger than he can even imagine. And he's written a novel, but the manuscript he's slaved over for years is currently hidden in his desk drawer while his father, an actual famous writer, just won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. His career, such that it is, involves mind-numbing corporate buzzwords, his pretentious arch-nemesis Gregory, and a hopeless, completely inappropriate crush on his favorite coworker. Oh ... and his dog, according to the vet, is suffering from acute anxiety.
Tom's life is crushing his soul, but he's decided to do something about it. (Really.) Domestic Violets is the brilliant and beguiling story of a man finally taking control of his own happiness— even if it means making a complete idiot of himself along the way.
"Reminiscent of Richard Russo's earlier work, Norman's refreshingly witty style is perfectly suited to articulating the trials of a middle-aged cynic. Wonderfully fast-paced, hilariously genuine, difficult to put down, Domestic Violets is an ideal first novel." ―Booklist
"Norman controls his complicated story and handles its chaos and plot twists with a steady, funny hand.... this is a thoroughly entertaining, light but thoughtful read." ―Publishers Weekly
"Domestic Violets is a wonderfully readable, riotous story of the upended lives of the Violets--Tom Violet, the narrator-in-crisis, tells the story of missed connections, off kilter marriages-- there's Anna, his wife, Curtis, his father, the famous writer, his young daughter, Allie-- but mostly this is the story of his own fragile masculinity and frustrations, of the precarious state of marriage, told with humor and surprising intimacy. You can't help but love him!" ―Susan Richards Shreve, author of A Student of Living Things
"Matthew Norman has written a dastardly fun satire of contemporary domestic life [with} surprising twists on all the old conventions and a fresh perspective on a literary foundation that hearkens back to Philip Roth, John Updike and John Cheever. An astoundingly good read!" ―Joshua Gaylord, author of Hummingbirds
This information about Domestic Violets 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.
Matthew Norman is an advertising copywriter. He lives with his wife and daughter in Baltimore. Domestic Violets is his first novel.
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