
The Good Guy
A deeply compelling novel about love and marriage set in 1960s suburban America
Susan Beale(Author)
John Murray Publishers Ltd
Book
Hardback
320 pages
978-1-4736-3033-8 (ISBN)
Description
SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD 2016
A deeply compelling novel set in 1960s suburban America for fans of The Engagements and Tigers in Red Weather.
Ted, a car-tyre salesman in 1960s suburban New England, is a dreamer who craves admiration. His wife, Abigail, longs for a life of the mind. Single-girl Penny just wants to be loved. When a chance encounter brings Ted and Penny together, he becomes enamoured and begins inventing a whole new life with her at its centre. But when this fantasy collides with reality, the fallout threatens everything, and everyone, he holds dear.
The Good Guy is a deeply compelling debut about love, marriage and what happens when good intentions and self-deception are taken to extremes.
A deeply compelling novel set in 1960s suburban America for fans of The Engagements and Tigers in Red Weather.
Ted, a car-tyre salesman in 1960s suburban New England, is a dreamer who craves admiration. His wife, Abigail, longs for a life of the mind. Single-girl Penny just wants to be loved. When a chance encounter brings Ted and Penny together, he becomes enamoured and begins inventing a whole new life with her at its centre. But when this fantasy collides with reality, the fallout threatens everything, and everyone, he holds dear.
The Good Guy is a deeply compelling debut about love, marriage and what happens when good intentions and self-deception are taken to extremes.
Reviews / Votes
A joy * Samantha Harvey, author of The Wilderness * Inspired by the author's own experience, The Good Guy is a story of marriage, self-deception and the pressure to conform in Sixties suburban New England * i * A delicious, slightly gossipy summer read with a Mad Men feel to it. I'd especially recommend this to readers who enjoyed The Longest Night by Andria Williams and Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann * Bookbag * There's definitely a Mad Men vibe to The Good Guy * Red, Best Books to Read this June * Fresh and lively * Daily Mail * Beale has crafted an engaging and harrowing portrait of womanhood and domestic life, astutely exploring the many ways in which distance and proximity can co-exist * Times Literary Supplement * Extremely well-written, intelligent and perceptive, this also happens to be a novel that slips down like ice-cream on a hot day. I absolutely loved it * Shiny New Books * What makes Beale's writing so poignant is her ability to paint her characters with such acute attention to detail * Dundee University Review of the Arts * The Good Guy is a very strong debut and a novel that kept me gripped to the very end. Beale is exceptional at creating believable characters that evoke genuine sympathy and scorn in equal measure * Book and Brew * The Good Guy is no honeyed exercise in nostalgia: it's an exploration of the deception and conformity at the heart of the American dream * Guardian Online * With echoes of Richard Yate's Revolutionary Road this is a tale of an outwardly idyllic marriage, that in private is unravelling horribly * Optima * A sparkling debut, with a lifelike depiction of a time and place, and piercing insights into the fabled, and often tarnished, American dream * Lady *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Hodder & Stoughton General Division
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 164 mm
Thickness: 29 mm
Weight
558 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4736-3033-8 (9781473630338)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Susan Beale
The Good Guy
A deeply compelling novel about love and marriage set in 1960s suburban America
E-Book
06/2016
John Murray Learning
€3.99
Available for download
Person
Susan Beale was brought up on Cape Cod and now lives in the UK. She is a recent graduate of the Bath Spa MA in Creative Writing. The Good Guy is her first novel. It was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award 2016.