Adam Haslett

About Union Atlantic by Adam Haslett, from the publisher:

At the heart of Union Atlantic lies a test of wills between a young banker, Doug Fanning, and a retired schoolteacher, Charlotte Graves, whose two dogs have begun to speak to her. When Doug builds an ostentatious mansion on land that Charlotte's grandfather donated to the town of Finden, Massachusetts, she determines to oust him in court. As a senior manager of Union Atlantic bank, a major financial conglomerate, Doug is embroiled in the company's struggle to remain afloat. It is Charlotte's brother, Henry Graves, the president of the New York Federal Reserve, who must keep a watchful eye on Union Atlantic and the entire financial system. Drawn into Doug and Charlotte's intensifying conflict is Nate Fuller, a troubled high-school senior who unwittingly stirs powerful emotions in each of them.

Irresistibly complex, imaginative, and witty, Union Atlantic is a singular work of fiction that is sure to be read and reread long after it causes a sensation this spring.

From the author's Q & A with Alexandra Alter at the Wall Street Journal:

The Wall Street Journal: How did you come up with the idea for this book?

Adam Haslett: About 10 years ago I read a book by William Greider called "Secrets of the Temple," which was a look at the Federal Reserve back in the late '70s and early '80s. So a totally different era, but it was a really wonderful, dramatic inside account of how the Fed worked. It was my first entry into that world, so the first character in the book I came up with was Henry Graves, the guy who's president of the New York Fed in the book. There's still a scene in the book that I wrote 10 years ago, when he's looking out the window of his office down at the people in the street.

WSJ: Did you always envision it as a novel or did it start out as separate stories?

Mr. Haslett: I felt like...[read on]

Visit Adam Haslett's website.

--Marshal Zeringue