A Fortunate Age

Living in crumbling Brooklyn apartments, holding down jobs as actors and writers and eschewing the middle-class sensibilities of their parents, graduates of the prestigious Oberlin College, Lil, Beth, Sadie, Emily, Dave and Tal believe they can have it all.

When the group come together to celebrate a marriage,anything seems possible. But soon the reality of rent, marriage and family will test them all. For this fortunate age can't last for ever, and the group must face adulthood, whether they are ready for it or not.

Sprawling and richly drawn, A Fortunate Age traces the lives of the group during some of the most defining years of modern America – from the decadence of the dot com boom through to the sobering events of September 11 and the trailing years that followed – this brilliant, ambitious debut novel perfectly captures the hopes, anxieties and dreams of a generation.

“A wonderful, funny and spot-on portrait of my clumsy generation that brings to mind such hallmarks as Mary McCarthy's The Group, Jay McInerney's Brightness Falls, and Claire Messud's The Emperor's Children” –  Gary Shteyngart, author of Super Sad True Love Story

“An epic novel ... about a generation finding its way ... Rakoff has brilliantly captured the mood of the era and the energy of a city” –  Bookpage

“An expansive and elegantly executed time capsule of the dot.com generation finding its feet during a critical moment in history ” –  New York Daily News

“Compulsively readable” –  Los Angeles Times

“Funny and acerbic … A Fortunate Age leaves a lasting impression” –  New York Observer

“Superb, acutely insightful … a modern-day version of Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence” –  The Rumpus

“My Salinger Year is a treat even Jerry might have enjoyed” –  Rachel Cooke, Observer on My Salinger Year

“Graceful … elegant” –  Jane Shilling, Telegraph on My Salinger Year

“This book is hard to put down … irresistible” –  Lucy Atkins, Sunday Times, on My Salinger Year