Bound: A Novel

Even after nearly two decades together, the Desplaines have their secrets. Oliver, an aging Wichita entrepreneur, is on his third marriage, and has recently found an even younger mistress. Catherine, his seemingly content wife, has a more colorful past than her husband knows, and it's about to come rushing back when Catherine learns she's been named guardian of a teenage girl she's never met. Meanwhile, the Wichita media is buzzing with the reemergence of a serial killer who haunted Catherine's own adolescence; a murderer has been hiding in plain sight, raising questions of how little any of us can truly know of our neighbors, our loved ones, or ourselves. Praise for Bound (A New York Times Notable Book): "Antonya Nelson wields words with breathtaking precision in Bound...Turning tiny moments into revelations, she brilliantly exposes the fears and delusions that drive people to rationalize destructive choices...[A] wise exploration of the war between our worst impulses and our better selves."-O, the Oprah Magazine "In her extraordinary fourth novel, Antonya Nelson captures the clamor and swirl of life in this new century ... She pulls the tension to a flawlessly calibrated conclusion."-NPR.org "A short story writer of exhilarating wit and empathy, Nelson returns to the novel after a decade with heightened authority. Tightly coiled, edgy, and funny...[A] sleekly powerful turbine of a novel." -Booklist (starred review)