Ocean State harnesses the relentless pacing of a crime novel and pairs it with a magnificent literary complexity to create a novel at once beautifully wrought and extremely readable; from the revelation in the first lines through to the very end, this book is impossible to put down.
O'Nan brilliantly captures the coastal Rhode Island atmosphere and the working-class people who live there year-round, and his masterly prose and deep empathy for his characters demonstrate his skill as a steady-handed craftsman.
We already have a wealth of early praise, including quotes from Megan Abbott, Susan Straight, Paul Tremblay, and Luis Alberto Urrea. George Saunders has said of Stewart: "O'Nan is an incredibly versatile and charming writer," and Stephen King advises readers: "If you haven't read Stewart O'Nan, you have some catching up to do."
Stewart's most recent novel, Henry, Himself (Viking, 2019), was a New York Times Editors' Choice and garnered rave reviews in the New York Times, the Seattle Times, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and more.
Stewart O'Nan has many avid fans in the media, including Ron Charles at the Washington Post and Terry Gross, Nancy Pearl, and Maureen Corrigan at NPR.
For fans of Empire Falls by Richard Russo and Anything Is Possible by Elizabeth Strout.
O'Nan's track record promises reliable sales and his years in the industry include a number of potential film collaborations that carry promise. Grove also owns four of his backlist titles and we're very happy to be publishing him once again.
