A Dual Inheritance: A Novel

Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1936. Two students meet one evening during their senior year. Ed is a Jewish kid on a scholarship; Hugh is a Boston Brahmin with the world at his feet. An intense friendship is sparked between these two opposites - and ends just as abruptly several years later, although only one of them knows why.

About the Author :
Joanna Hershon is the author of "The German Bride, The Outside of August, " and "Swimming." She has received fellowships from Bread Loaf Writers' Conference and the Edward Albee Foundation. An adjunct assistant professor in the creative writing department at Columbia University, she lives in Brooklyn with her husband, the painter Derek Buckner, and their twin sons.

Review :
""A Dual Inheritance" is a big, captivating, multigenerational sweep of a romance, ranging from Africa to China to New England's blue-blooded enclaves. With deftness and swagger, Joanna Hershon spins the intertwining of two Harvard men's lives into a searching exploration of class and destiny in late-twentieth-century America."--Jennifer Egan, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "A Visit from the Goon Squad" "The best book about male friendship written this young century."--"Details" " " "[A] warm, smart, enjoyably complex novel . . . Both Hugh and Ed are lonely searchers . . . and [Hershon's] skill in rendering each of them as flawed individuals is what makes the novel so readable and so rich. . . . "A Dual Inheritance" is an old-fashioned social novel that feels fresh because of its deft, clear-eyed approach to still-unspoken rules about ethnicity, money and identity."--"San Francisco Chronicle" " " "An absorbing, fully-realized novel . . . [Hershon] renders the book's many locales with a nuanced appreciation for the way environment emerges out of the confluence of physical detail and social experience. . . . "A Dual Inheritance" never lets its readers forget they are reading a well-crafted novel, and as a well-crafted novel, it fully satisfies."--"The Boston Globe" "Simultaneously a riveting story of two very different families and a portrait of the United States through the boom and bust decades . . . Think of Anne Tyler and Tom Wolfe, both. This marvelous novel is a mix of heartache and history. I just couldn't stop reading, and when it was over I felt sad the experience had ended."--Victor LaValle, author of "The Devil in Silver" "[An] engrossing saga."--"Vogue" " " "Hershon artfully guides us through the lives of Ed and Hugh, college buddies who meet at Harvard in the '60s, shifting between their perspectives through adulthood to detail their lingering impact on one another's lives in such a way that it'll make you take a "The best book about male friendship written this young century."--"Details" " " "[An] engrossing saga."--"Vogue" " " "Hershon artfully guides us through the lives of Ed and Hugh, college buddies who meet at Harvard in the '60s, shifting between their perspectives through adulthood to detail their lingering impact on one another's lives in such a way that it'll make you take a second look at all of your relationships."--"GQ" " " "Let this story of two Harvard men's unexpected friendship and its sudden end transport you through time (beginning on Harvard's campus in 1962) and place."--The Huffington Post "A richly composed . . . portrait of familial gravity and the wobbly orbits that bring us together again and again."--"Kirkus Reviews" " " "This thought-provoking generational tale is a heartfelt and beautiful story of an unlikely friendship that fades at times, but never seems to go away."--"Long Island Press" "Sharply observed and masterfully constructed, Hershon's fourth novel is her strongest yet, a deft and assured examination of ambition, envy, longing, and kinship."--"Booklist "(starred review) "Hershon deftly explores how individuals often sabotage their chances for happiness. . . . The characters in this novel are fully realized, the story moves along at a fast pace, and the author is well informed about her subject. Highly recommended."--"Library Journal "(starred review) "[A] searing novel about class, ethnicity, and love . . . The intensely detailed love triangle is reminiscent of an East Coast elite answer to the Midwestern trio of "Freedom, " but with mere keen observation in place of that other novel's sweeping moral pronouncements. Hershon explores the ways we can, and can't, escape our backgrounds."--"Publishers Weekly "(starred review) ""A Dual Inheritance" is a big, captivating, multigenerational sweep of a romance, ranging from Africa to China to New England's blue-blooded enclav Advance praise for "A""Dual Inheritance " "Sharply observed and masterfully constructed, Hershon's fourth novel is her strongest yet, a deft and assured examination of ambition, envy, longing, and kinship."--"Booklist "(starred review) "Hershon deftly explores how individuals often sabotage their chances for happiness. . . . The characters in this novel are fully realized, the story moves along at a fast pace, and the author is well informed about her subject. Highly recommended."--"Library Journal "(starred review) "[A] searing novel about class, ethnicity, and love . . . The intensely detailed love triangle is reminiscent of an East Coast elite answer to the Midwestern trio of "Freedom, " but with mere keen observation in place of that other novel's sweeping moral pronouncements. Hershon explores the ways we can, and can't, escape our backgrounds."--"Publishers Weekly "(starred review) ""A Dual Inheritance" is a big, captivating, multigenerational sweep of a romance, ranging from Africa to China to New England's blue-blooded enclaves. With deftness and swagger, Joanna Hershon spins the intertwining of two Harvard men's lives into a searching exploration of class and destiny in late-twentieth-century America."--Jennifer Egan, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "A Visit from the Goon Squad" "Joanna Hershon has written a vivid, elegant novel that deftly roams the decades and the globe in telling a story about friendship, family, and the murky area in between. "A Dual Inheritance" is a rich and satisfying read."--Maggie Shipstead, author of "Seating Arrangements" "Simultaneously a riveting story of two very different families and a portrait of the United States through the boom and bust decades . . . Think of Anne Tyler and Tom Wolfe, both. This marvelous novel is a mix of heartache and history. I just couldn't stop reading, and when it was over I felt sad the experience had ended."--Victor LaValle, author of "The Devil ina Advance praise for "A""Dual Inheritance" ""A Dual Inheritance" is a big, captivating, multigenerational sweep of a romance, ranging from Africa to China to New England's blue-blooded enclaves. With deftness and swagger, Joanna Hershon spins the intertwining of two Harvard men's lives into a searching exploration of class and destiny in late-twentieth-century America."--Jennifer Egan, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "A Visit from the Goon Squad" "Joanna Hershon has written a vivid, elegant novel that deftly roams the decades and the globe in telling a story about friendship, family, and the murky area in between. "A Dual Inheritance" is a rich and satisfying read."--Maggie Shipstead, author of "Seating Arrangements" "Simultaneously a riveting story of two very different families and a portrait of the United States through the boom and bust decades . . . Think of Anne Tyler and Tom Wolfe, both. This marvelous novel is a mix of heartache and history. I just couldn't stop reading, and when it was over I felt sad the experience had ended."--Victor LaValle, author of "The Devil in Silver" "Joanna Hershon is further evidence of a pleasing trend set off by Jonathan Franzen's "Freedom" and Jeffrey Eugenides's "The Marriage Plot" big books about American politics, social customs, and family dynamics that seek to update and relocate the brilliantly compelling English nineteenth-century novel. I envy and admire Hershon's ability to so convincingly display the complex intimacies of multigenerational love and friendship. This is a book to lose yourself in."--Antonya Nelson, author of "Bound" "Wise, heartfelt, and beautifully written, "A Dual Inheritance" is about the big things: love, work, family, money. It earns its ambitions and is astonishingly good. I just loved this novel."--Joshua Henkin, author of "The World Without You" ""A Dual Inheritance" is deep and beautiful and humane. It has a massive scope and a social conscienc Advance praise for "A""Dual Inheritance" "Joanna Hershon has written a vivid, elegant novel that deftly roams the decades and the globe in telling a story about friendship, family, and the murky area in between. "A Dual Inheritance" is a rich and satisfying read."--Maggie Shipstead, author of "Seating Arrangements" "Simultaneously a riveting story of two very different families and a portrait of the United States through the boom and bust decades . . . Think of Anne Tyler and Tom Wolfe, both. This marvelous novel is a mix of heartache and history. I just couldn't stop reading, and when it was over I felt sad the experience had ended."--Victor LaValle, author of "The Devil in Silver" "Joanna Hershon is further evidence of a pleasing trend set off by Jonathan Franzen's "Freedom" and Jeffrey Eugenides's "The Marriage Plot" big books about American politics, social customs, and family dynamics that seek to update and relocate the brilliantly compelling English nineteenth-century novel. I envy and admire Hershon's ability to so convincingly display the complex intimacies of multigenerational love and friendship. This is a book to lose yourself in."--Antonya Nelson, author of "Bound" "Wise, heartfelt, and beautifully written, "A Dual Inheritance" is about the big things: love, work, family, money. It earns its ambitions and is astonishingly good. I just loved this novel."--Joshua Henkin, author of "The World Without You" ""A Dual Inheritance" is deep and beautiful and humane. It has a massive scope and a social conscience, and yet is also incredibly intimate. What an accomplished novel; it truly took my breath away."--Jennifer Gilmore, author of "The Mothers" "This brilliant family saga captured me from its opening lines and kept me pinned to the couch--by turns laughing and sobbing--until I'd reached its stunning, satisfying conclusion. It calls to mind "The Corrections" and "The Emperor's Children," as well as Cheever a Advance praise for "A""Dual Inheritance" "This brilliant family saga captured me from its opening lines and kept me pinned to the couch--by turns laughing and sobbing--until I'd reached its stunning, satisfying conclusion. It calls to mind "The Corrections" and "The Emperor's Children", as well as Cheever and Michener and Potok, but this is also a novel squarely in the tradition of Victorian social realism, of Eliot and Galsworthy and Dickens. And like those novels, "A Dual Inheritance" is a cracking story--populated with complicated, fascinating characters and fueled by surprising turns of plot--but it's also a deft analysis of class and race in America. With it, Joanna Hershon establishes herself as one of the most important storytellers of the new millennium."--Joanna Smith Rakoff, author of "A Fortunate Age" ""A Dual Inheritance" is deep and beautiful and humane. It has a massive scope and a social conscience, and yet is also incredibly intimate. What an accomplished novel; it truly took my breath away."--Jennifer Gilmore, author of "Something Red" "Joanna Hershon gives further evidence of a pleasing trend set off by Jonathan Franzen's "Freedom" and Jeffrey Eugenides's" The Marriage Plot" big books about American politics, social customs, and family dynamics that seek to update and relocate the brilliantly compelling English nineteenth-century novel. I envy and admire Hershon's ability to so convincingly display the complex intimacies of multigenerational love and friendship. This is a book to lose yourself in."--Antonya Nelson, author of "Bound" "This insightful, worldly, and engaging novel, at once intimate and broad in scope, traverses continents and decades while hewing closely to the psychological shadings of its characters. A rueful comedy of entitlement and chagrin, it says volumes about the way we live now."--Phillip Lopate, author of "Getting Personal"