Greenville

Book excerpt: In this novel based on real events, Dale Peck takes on the childhood of his father, Dale Peck Sr. Raised in poverty with seven brothers and sisters in suburban Long Island, terrorized by an abusive mother, Dale Sr.’s life changes when his alcoholic father dumps him at his uncle’s dairy farm in upstate New York. There he begins to thrive, finding real love and connection with his Uncle Wallace and Aunt Bess. But he is ultimately unable to outrun the chaos and violence of his old life. A virtuoso work of great empathy and originality, Greenville is Peck’s most heartfelt and haunted novel to date.