Here is an exceptionally engaging first novel from a commanding new voice in fiction, author of the award-winning and widely acclaimed story collection The Theory of Light and Matter.
The Harding family is teetering on the brink. Elson—once one of Houston’s most promising architects, but who never quite lived up to expectations—is recently divorced from his wife of thirty years. Their grown son Richard is still living at home, driving his mother’s minivan, working at a local coffee shop, and resisting the career as a writer that beckons him. And when Chloe Harding gets kicked out of her East Coast college for reasons she can’t explain to either her parents or her older brother, the Hardings’ lives really start to unravel. Chloe returns to Houston, but she may be in greater danger than ever before. Told with piercing insight, taut psychological suspense, and the wisdom of a true master of character, this is a novel about the vagaries of love and family, about betrayal and forgiveness, about the possibility and impossibility of coming home.
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"I am so happy to have discovered this writer and this book! I love his delicate style and his intricate weaving together of perspectives and storylines. The pace is slow at first but gradually speeds up as the family's problems become unshakeable and you're brought deeper into their worlds. I enjoyed this novel immensely and look forward to reading more of his writing."
— Marjorie (5 out of 5 stars)
“In Between Days is a tightly wound novel of suspense, wrapped in the emotional trials of a family teetering on the edge of disaster. Andrew Porter has given us a fresh, modern, literary page-turner, exposing in turn the inner lives of father, mother, brother, and sister. Grown-ups go around behaving like children, while adult children refuse to grow up, until ultimately everyone is shaken from their sheltered lives and into a whole new world.”
— Hannah Tinti, author of The Good Thief, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year“A family drama spiced with a touch of intrigue…There’s a reason writers love dysfunctional families—they are an endless source of dramatic fodder, encompassing just about every flavor of human neurosis and cruelty imaginable. In Between Days, the debut novel of the well-regarded short-story writer Andrew Porter, is a welcome new entry in the canon.”
— Boston Globe“In Between Days immerses readers in a family drama…[Gives] a real and moving sense of how families are composed of so many moments mutually and individually and collectively experienced…The author manages to make us care, to help us see how every move and each decision, however seemingly important or inconsequential, ravels and unravels a family’s life, as the fabric nonetheless somehow holds together…Eloquent.”
— Minneapolis Star-Tribune“This is Andrew Porter’s first novel and, as a portrait of a modern American nuclear family, it is a deft one. He weaves in the full tapestry of contemporary life and its complications: male menopause, desperate housewives, extended adolescence, and race relations in post-9/11 America.”
— Dallas Morning News“Porter writes with intuitiveness about the complexities of family life and creates indelible characters in the novel…[Told in] stately prose…What makes In Between Days so compelling is the characters. Each is holding something back from the others, carrying a secret, telling only half the truth most of the time. By withholding vital information, Porter is able to develop a sense of unease as thick as Houston smog…As Chloe’s frantic parents’ distress mounts, the psychological suspense builds.”
— San Antonio Express-News“A deftly paced social psychodrama…A stirring page-turner, part Chekhov and part Hitchcock…[Porter’s] descriptions of [Houston] society and geography are spot on—whether imagining the lives of Montrose rent boys or detailing architectural one-upmanship at Harding’s fictional firm.”
— Houston magazine“A striking assemblage of generational disintegration and distress that will remind some readers of [the] Ingmar Bergman–inspired Woody Allen art house flick Interiors by way of Jeffrey Eugenides’s The Virgin Suicides…Porter has effortlessly and enviably, it seems, made the tough transition from best-kept literary secret to bestseller material.”
— San Antonio magazine“I’m not really a fan of family-drama novels [but] In Between Days is an exception…The real treat is Porter’s plainspoken treatment of his characters, quiet and intense, and the revelation of fine but substantive fractures that are impossible to repair.”
— Paris Review Daily“Porter’s debut novel grabs the reader and does not let go until the last line…The plot moves backward and forward in time, artfully revealing key details and maintaining a mesmerizing level of suspense.”
— Library Journal“The story is told with great emotional and psychological insight. All of the four Hardings get to tell their pieces of the story in their distinct voices, creating a multilayered and suspenseful tale of love in all its varieties and family defined in different ways.”
— Booklist“In Between Days confirms that Andrew Porter has arrived…A Jamesian examination of character that dances a quadrille with the points of view of the four Hardings, the novel sustains the taut suspense of crime fiction…The prose and pacing are nearly flawless.”
— Texas Observer“A powerful portrait of family dysfunction, a worthy successor to Porter’s award-winning short-story collection, The Theory of Light and Matter…It succeeds as a universal comment about love, loyalty, and loss.”
— Texas Monthly“Porter’s absorbing debut novel chronicles the slow-motion fracture of an upper-middle-class Houston clan…The prose is smooth—practically frictionless, thanks to Porter’s realistic yet meaningful dialogue and his plainspoken, nonjudgmental descriptions…Porter wants to explore why we take such firm hold of some parts of our emotional lives but willfully neglect others, and his surprise ending suggests why it’s worth breaking free of others’ definitions of emotional attainment.”
— Kirkus Reviews“In Between Days is as complex and sensitive in psychology as it is credible and compelling in narrative…[Porter] masterfully creates the context in which this quartet of characters displays not just their vulnerabilities but their desperate comprehension.”
— Baton Rouge Advocate" I was so engaged in the lives of these characters I was sad when the book ended. I love stories about small events in ordinary lives that become big and that's what this book was about. Brutally honest, perceptive and well written. This family will be hard to forget. "
— Elizabeth, 2/8/2014" I love Porter's writing and at first that's what kept me interested, then the plot really picked up in the second half and I breezed right through it in an afternoon. "
— Scott, 2/6/2014" Just like everyone else said- I didn't want to read it, not into family dramas, blah blah blah. In Between Days was very enjoyable. It moved quickly and the characters were very well develop. "
— Katie, 2/4/2014" I wasn't sure if this would be my type of novel, but I ended up really loving it. Wow. "
— S.B., 2/3/2014" I finished this book because I did want to know what happened to the girl, otherwise this was a rambling story about a family making poor choices and acting like idiots. "
— Jennifer, 1/26/2014" Didn't find any of the characters remotely interesting... "
— Jerri, 1/20/2014" A Texas family in crisis. The mystery at the center kept me engaged and the prose in so squeaky clean it's an easy, pleasurable read. "
— Paula, 1/19/2014" 3.5 - very well written but I couldn't fully invest in the characters. "
— Leanne, 1/16/2014" I read this simultaneously with Porter's collection of short stories and loved both. This was a longer book than The Theory of Light and Matter but a faster read. The stories were so intense I had to read them slowly. "
— Clay, 1/15/2014" I'm not a big fiction person, but this one I kind of fell in love with. Porter captures the whole middle-aged suburban angst thing with perfection. "
— Mara, 1/12/2014" I became more engrossed with this novel the more I read. The author has a nice style that's easy to read. The story is kinda sad but I found the characters really interesting and the plot is great. "
— Kendra, 12/21/2013" This was a dark, elegantly written novel about suburban strife. I enjoyed it. "
— Reina, 12/16/2013" Interesting book. Well-written, realistic family story. "
— Sherry, 11/13/2013" Really great book. I had never heard of Andrew Porter so it wasn't sure what to expect when reading his book. All I can say is wow; it's a real page turner. I definitely recommend this book. "
— Hope, 8/17/2013" After a promising start, this novel barely held my interest. I'm not sure why it ran out of fuel, but the characters just seemed to become less and less interesting to me, instead of the reverse. Too bad. "
— Elizabeth, 7/16/2013" One of the best books I've read in the past few months. The writing seemed sharper than much of what I've read lately and the perspective on 21st century family life was fresh. Looking forward to the next one by this author! "
— Mbholm02, 6/8/2013" Excellent narrative flow. Maintained engagement and suspense (!) throughout the novel. Well-written, like his prior book of short stories. Sort of a classic narrative and yet totally contemporary with its uncertainties, the existential angst of the characters, and the unresolved sense of the world. "
— Susan, 5/6/2013" Deep and moving novel about difficult choices and the breaking up of a family. Many of the scenes and moments are still vivid in my mind. "
— Francie, 12/26/2012" Not your typical family drama! Very well-written and fast-paced. I read it in one weekend and couldn't put it down. The characters stay with you for a long time afterward. "
— Chelsea, 12/7/2012" read, nov 2012 "
— Naomi, 11/10/2012" I would actually like to rate this book 3.5 for the simple fact that it didn't keep my interest throughout. In some places it went on too long for my liking. "
— Olivia, 10/6/2012" A fascinating examination of a Houston family's slow disintegration. Porter's writing is stark and hypnotic and the story moves along a nice clip thanks to the alternating point of view. "
— Jospeh, 9/3/2012Andrew Porter is the author of the story collection The Theory of Light and Matter. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, he has received a Pushcart Prize, a James Michener/Copernicus Fellowship, and the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction. His work has appeared in One Story, the Threepenny Review, and on public radio’s Selected Shorts. Currently, he teaches fiction writing and directs the creative writing program at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.
Mark Bramhall has won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration, more than thirty AudioFile Earphones Awards, and has repeatedly been named by AudioFile magazine and Publishers Weekly among their “Best Voices of the Year.” He is also an award-winning actor whose acting credits include off-Broadway, regional, and many Los Angeles venues as well as television, animation, and feature films. He has taught and directed at the American Academy of Dramatic Art.