About Schmidt
LOUIS BEGLEY

About Schmidt by Louis Begley 34 reviews (1996) (304p) National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction Finalist LA Times Book Prize for Fiction

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Book Description

"A fine new novel... The great pleasure of reading Louis Begley [is] his exceptional literary intelligence." The New York Times Book Review "Begley again demonstrates that he can reveal the complexities of society and personality with a clear eye and graceful style... Morethan meets the requirements of graceful fiction." Time Proud, traditional, and impeccably organized, Albert Schmidt is a button-down lawyer of the old school. But now, after years of carefulmanagement, his life is slowly unraveling. His beloved wife has recently died. He stumbles--or is he being pushed?--into earlyretirement. And his daughter, his only child, is planning to marry a man Schmidt cannot approve of, for reasons he can scarcely admit, even to himself. As Schmidt gropes for resolutions, he finds unexpected hope in an intense passion that comes out of the blue. Set in the Hamptons and Manhattan, infused with black humor and startling eroticism, About Schmidt is both a meditation on lonelinessand on the power of romance to unlock the most impenetrable recesses of the heart. "Comical, tough, unsparing; it is as if Louis Auchincloss had exchanged the kid gloves for brass knuckles... Interesting and nervy." The Washington Post Book World "A powerful story of a man's fall from grace... The Remains of the Day come[s] to mind." Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Stunning." Los Angeles Times Book Review

Amazon.com Review

Albert Schmidt is a retired lawyer who misses his recently deceased wife, has an unhealthy diet, is a mild anti-Semite and owns a nice home in the Hamptons he feels compelled to offer to his daughter as a wedding present. Said daughter, Charlotte, is a yuppie in all the worst ways. She handles public relations for tobacco companies, doesn't want the house in the Hamptons, and is about to marry a buttoned-up Jewish lawyer. The conflict takes off from there in this finely told tale of retirement, inheritance, and death.

Other Award Winning Books by Louis Begley

Wartime Lies by Louis Begley 11 reviews (1991) (0p) (NBCCA) (NBA) (NYTimes) Read Reviews | Visit this book's Amazon.com page

Louis Begley Award Stats

Major Prize* Nominations 3   Unique Books Nominated for a Major Prize* 2   Pulitzer Prize Wins 0   Pulitzer Prize Nominations 0   National Book Critics Circle Award Wins 0   National Book Critics Circle Award Nominations 2 About Schmidt · Wartime Lies ·   National Book Award Wins 0   National Book Award Nominations 1 Wartime Lies ·   Man Booker Prize Wins 0   Man Booker Prize Nominations 0   PEN/Faulkner Award Wins 0   PEN/Faulkner Award Nominations 0

*Major Prize = Pulitzer Prize, National Book Critics Circle Award, National Book Award, Man Booker Prize, and PEN/Faulkner Award

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