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.From the author's Q & A with Alexandra Alter at the Wall Street Journal: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.
The Wall Street Journal: How did you come up with the idea for this book?Visit Adam Haslett's website.
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]
--Marshal Zeringue