Appointment in Samarra
Ratings3
Average rating3.7
15
Ratings3
Average rating3.7
The best-loved book by the writer whom Fran Lebowitz compared to the author of The Great Gatsby, calling him “the real F. Scott Fitzgerald” One of the great novels of small-town American life, Appointment in Samarra is John O’Hara’s crowning achievement. In December 1930, just before Christmas, the Gibbsville, Pennsylvania, social circuit is electrified with parties and dances. At the center of the social elite stand Julian and Caroline English. But in one rash moment born inside a highball glass, Julian breaks with polite society and begins a rapid descent toward self-destruction. Brimming with wealth and privilege, jealousy and infidelity, O’Hara’s iconic first novel is an unflinching look at the dark side of the American dream—and a lasting testament to the keen social intelligence if a major American writer.
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Julian English has everything a man could want in 1934 America—affluent background, beautiful wife, lovely home, rich friends, successful business—and yet, somehow, almost inexplicably, comes to destroy everything he has in the short space of 72 hours. It's the American dream turned nightmare, and it's horrific to watch, even from the pages of a book. A life overturned—and why? And for what? It's not clear and no one—not his friends, not his wife, not his parents, not even Julian himself—seem to understand what is going on. But it is very clear that this is no isolated incident, that this story is very real, that this story could happen to anyone.
