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Town & Country

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Town & Country

By: Brian Schaefer
Narrated by: Daniel K Isaac
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About this listen

A 2025 MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK: Town & Country LGBTQReads Kirkus Reviews

“Refreshingly thoughtful...Town & Country is never short of engaging.” —The Washington Post

A “big-hearted and true” (Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize winner) debut novel set in a small rural town amid a congressional race that forces the candidates, their families, and a clique of gay second homeowners to confront lies, betrayals and shifting allegiances.

The trendy rural town of Griffin has become a popular destination for weekenders and the city’s second homeowners, but now a congressional race in this swing district is highlighting tensions between life-long residents and new arrivals. The campaign pits local pub owner and town supervisor Chip Riley against the wealthy young carpetbagger Paul Banks, challenging the social and political loyalties of their families and friends with lasting repercussions.

Diane Riley, Chip’s wife, is a religiously devout real estate agent who feels conflicted about selling second homes—including to Paul and his much older husband, Stan. Their elder son, Joe, is grieving the recent overdose death of his best friend and spiraling into drugs himself, while their younger son, Will, is a newly out college student seduced by the decadent lifestyle of Paul’s circle.

Meanwhile, Stan Banks uses the race to give purpose to the pain of losing a loved one to AIDS, even as he begins to doubt Paul’s readiness for office. And within their growing fraternity of city transplants, Eric Larimer finds unexpected connection with a local farmer that opens his eyes to the region’s complexity as Leon Rogers, still reeling from a divorce, becomes increasingly desperate to infiltrate the Banks’s exclusive crew.

Spanning six months from Memorial Day to Election Day, Town & Country paints a kaleidoscopic portrait of a community in flux. For readers of Fredrick Backman and Jen Beagin, this “powerful and extremely well-written book” (Colum McCann, National Book Award winner) asks the essential and timeless questions: What makes a home, and what do we owe our neighbors?
Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Political Small Town & Rural Heartfelt

Critic Reviews

"Daniel K. Isaac's performance reminds listeners that there’s always more than meets the eye in seemingly charming small towns. In Griffin, New York, the unseen has started bubbling to the surface. Listeners become immersed in the town's conflicts over a congressional race, struggles with addiction, history of ignorance and prejudice, and present-day gentrification. The complex lives of the transplants and the homegrown are treated with respect as Isaac recounts in a level, tranquil tone the circumstances that have brought each character to the town. Isaac’s delicate narration smoothly shifts from scene to scene and character to character. An excellent listen for political junkies, relocated city dwellers, and those hungry for a slice of small-town America."
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