Mr. Eternity (34 page)

I owe a special word of thanks to Peter Carey, whose
True History of the Kelly Gang
started me on the whole thing. Jam is Ned Kelly’s direct literary descendant.

Thanks to everyone who read drafts of this book: David Blanton, Zacc Dukowitz, David Weimer, Michael Hofmann, Audrey Thier, and Peter Murphy. Special general thanks to Padgett Powell. Thanks to my agent, Cynthia Cannell; to my exceptional editor, Rachel Mannheimer; and to Sara Mercurio and the rest of the folks at Bloomsbury. Thanks to Paula and Sam Thier, without whom we are helpless, and again to Audrey Thier and Peter Murphy, without whom we are helpless. Thanks also to Stacy and Eric Cochran and the other members of the Park Street Literary Arts Council for the year-long residency during which this book was written.

And to my wife, Sarah Trudgeon, who reshaped this novel many times and whose love and support is a precondition for every enterprise I undertake, large and small, and without whom I am helpless: I have written this book for you. It is a way of almost saying what cannot be said.

A
ARON
T
HIER
was born in Baltimore and raised in Williamstown, Massachusetts. He is a columnist for
Lucky Peach
, a regular contributor to the
Nation
, and the author of one previous novel,
The Ghost Apple
, a semifinalist for the James Thurber Prize for American Humor.

ALSO AVAILABLE

THE GHOST APPLE

BY AARON THIER

Semifinalist for the Thurber Prize

Maggie Bell is a directionless New England college student enamored with her colonial history professor, John Kabaka. Bill Brees is a widowed dean who sees promise in Maggie. Their college is a troubled institution that has effectively sold itself to a snack food corporation.

And when Maggie, Bill, and Professor Kabaka all end up on the college’s Caribbean satellite campus—heart of the corporation’s agricultural operations—things get very strange …

Praise for
The Ghost Apple

“Mordant and mischievous … Thier renders a deranged world that we recognize as our own.” —
The Boston Globe

“Insanely fun … [A] raucous adventure.” —
Booklist

“An insightful and hilarious look at the shape of the modern world … A definite new voice to watch.” —
Bustle

“Reads like a classic campus novel shredded, set on fire, and rebuilt by Jonathan Swift.” —
Andrea Barrett, National Book Award winner, author of
Archangel

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First published 2016

© Aaron Thier 2016

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ISBN:     HB:        978-1-63286-093-4

                ePub:     978-1-63286-094-1

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