We Only Know So Much

A funny and moving debut novel that follows four generations of a singularly weird American family, all living under one roof, as each member confronts a moment of crisis in a narrative told through a uniquely quirky, charming, and unforgettable voice. Acclaimed short story writer Elizabeth Crane, well known to public radio listeners for her frequent and captivating contributions to WBEZ Chicago's Writer's Block Party, delivers a sublime, poignant, and often hilarious first novel, perfect for fans of Jessica Anya Blau's The Summer of Naked Swim Parties and Heather O'Neill's Lullabies for Little Criminals. "Crane has a distinctive and eccentric voice that is consistent and riveting." --New York Times Book Review

About the Author :
Elizabeth Crane is the author of the novel We Only Know So Much and three collections of short stories. Her stories have been featured on NPR's Selected Shorts. She is a recipient of the Chicago Public Library 21st Century Award, and her work has been adapted for the stage by Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company. A feature film adaptation of We Only Know So Much will be released in 2016.

Review :
"Crane has a distinctive and eccentric voice that is consistent and riveting." - New York Times Book Review on When the Messenger is Hot "Grade: A" - Entertainment Weekly on All This Heavenly Glory "Clever, inventive, and piquant, Crane's breathless stories hit the brain with more voltage than a double espresso." --Booklist - Booklist on When the Messenger is Hot "Crane has created an entirely original style that is one part stand-up routine, two parts confessional." - San Francisco Chronicle on When the Messenger is Hot "At last a novel from Elizabeth Crane! With her expert humorist's eye for detail, she gives us a playful, passionate story of longing, heartbreak, and of the gargantuan human will. You won't be able to stop reading." - Deb Olin Unferth, author of Revolution "Not since The Royal Tenenbaums have I loved a family so much. The Copelands of WE ONLY KNOW SO MUCH are wonderfully eccentric, hilariously not self-aware and strangely adorable. They seemed so real, I felt like I was reading my own family story." - Jessica Anya Blau, author of The Summer of Naked Swim Parties and Drinking Closer to Home "Funny, scathing and yet thoroughly empathetic. . . . Author of three terrific story collections, [Crane] has finally written us a novel, and what a joy it is! Written in the conversational, almost snarky vernacular of an insider, We Only Know So Much provides more space for Crane's deft characterization and sly sense of humor, and gives her characters room to change and grow as they muddle through their crises." - Miami Herald "Like any good story writer, she had me in the first two paragraphs. . . . A treat to read. The characters are crisp and enjoyable; the narrator is smart and witty." - IOWA PRESS-CITIZEN "A beautiful, warmhearted, ferociously honest debut that will pull you in with its chorus of true voices and catch you off guard with its playful, restless edginess." - Patrick Somerville, author of The Cradle and This Bright River "What I know for sure is this: Elizabeth Crane understands family. The simple pleasures, the daily outrage, the constant burying of secrets. Be careful what you say to your children -- they are listening. A funny and remarkable first novel." - Marcy Dermansky, author of Bad Marie and Twins "Crane expertly draws a family portrait in which all the faces are turned away from each other, capturing perfectly how we can live in close proximity and still be completely absorbed in our own secret worlds, yearning for the past or too eager for the future, but never giving ourselves to the present. Whether these characters want love, kindness, memory, connection or fame for fame's sake, Crane makes them human-and even if they are not connecting with each other, we connect with them." - Interview.com "Its style is literary, with an edge: The point of view is wicked, the characters prickly, the language not quite quotable here. I can't wait to read past the first chapter." - Los Angeles Times "The Copelands would feel right at home in a Noah Baumbach movie. . . . Our narrator is an omniscient 'We' who reports the goings-on of the family with the breathless glee of an incurable gossip." - Entertainment Weekly "Crane is an accomplished, prolific short story writer; in her debut novel, she makes painful issues accessible via a clever, original narrative voice that allows the reader to peek inside her characters. By accentuating their offbeat flaws and failures, Crane reveals a dark, yet endearing, sense of humanity. In the end, the "ordinary" aspects of living life, however dysfunctional, escalate until the novel reaches thought-provoking conclusions about the meaning of life." - Shelf Awareness