Third Place Books welcomes local author Andrew Palmer to our Seward Park store for the paperback launch of his witty and provocative novel The Bachelor.
"'That is our 'pointed task. Love & die.' So says John Berryman, the pre-eminent lovedrunk poet and the central obsession of Andrew Palmer's debut novel, The Bachelor, a book that is, yes, partially about romantic love in the age of reality television. . . Palmer's brilliant work is full of insight and romantic mistakes, like reading the best of Andrew Martin, Ben Lerner, or Elif Batuman." —Spencer Ruchti, Author Events Manager
This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required in advance.
Copies of The Bachelor will be available for purchase at the store. This event will include a public signing and time for audience Q&A. Sustain our author series by purchasing a copy of the featured book!
Click here for more about our COVID-19 policies for in-person events.
Having trouble accessing Eventbrite? Click here.
for this in-person event
Reeling from a breakup with his almost-fiancée, the narrator of Andrew Palmer's first novel returns to his hometown in Iowa to house-sit for a family friend. There, a chance flick of the TV remote and a new correspondence with an old friend plunge him into unlikely twin obsessions: the reality TV show The Bachelor and the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet John Berryman. As his heart begins to mend, his fascination with each deepens. Somewhere along the way, representations of reality become harder and harder to distinguish from real life. Soon he finds himself corresponding with multiple love interests, participating in an ill-considered group outing, and trying to puzzle through the strange turn his life seems to have taken.
Smart, sexy, and provocative, The Bachelor is also an absorbing coming-of-age tale that tells the story of finding one's footing in love and art. If salvation can no longer be found in fame, can it still be found in romantic relationships? In an era in which reality TV can make two dozen women fall in love with one man in six weeks, where does entertainment end and reality begin? Why do we, season after season, repeat the same mistakes in love and life?
“This unassuming, sharp novel quietly questions love and the nature of perception in an overconnected world.”
—The Seattle Times
“A funny, smart, quietly beautiful novel about the search for narrative—in art, in work, in life.”
—Walker Caplan, Literary Hub
“Encountering fish in a barrel, Andrew Palmer opts not to shoot but to watch, really watch. His ridiculously good debut is an intelligent, tender, surprising, and earnest examination of American love and loneliness. I wanted the book, just like the TV show, to keep going and going.”
—Chris Bachelder, author of The Throwback Special
“I will read anything Andrew Palmer writes. With shades of W. G. Sebald, Frederick Exley, and Ben Lerner, and a warmth and humor all its own, Palmer’s first novel shows the hidden currents that bind our culture in songs of longing and hope. . .It is the definitive (literary) word on our reality-television era.”
—Greg Jackson, author of Prodigals
Andrew Palmer is a writer whose work has appeared in The Times Literary Supplement and McSweeney's and online at Slate, The Paris Review, and The New Yorker. He has been a fiction fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and a resident at Ucross, the Anderson Center, and Yaddo. He grew up in Iowa and lives in Seattle with his partner and their dog. The Bachelor is his first novel. (Photo credit: Liza Birnbaum)
Want a signed edition of the featured book, but can't make it to the event? Order through our website or over the phone, and write your request for a signature or personalization in the comments field at checkout. Please call the hosting store if you're placing your order within 24 hours of the event.
Third Place Books Events Code of Conduct: Third Place Books is committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of event attendees and guest authors, during both online and in-store events. By registering for this event, you are agreeing to refrain from engaging in inappropriate behavior and harassment of any kind throughout the course of this event (i.e. racial slurs, profanity, hate speech, spam comments, etc.). Please note that any participants who engage in inappropriate behavior or harassment of any kind will be immediately ejected from the event.
For media inquiries, access inquiries, or questions about our Covid-19 policies, please email events@thirdplacebooks.com or call our Lake Forest Park store at (206) 366-3311.
