The Nix

A Novel

By: Nathan Hill

Narrated by: Ari Fliakos

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER •

From the suburban Midwest to New York City to the 1968 riots that rocked Chicago and beyond, a novel that explores—with sharp humor and a fierce tenderness—the resilience of love and home, even in times of radical change.

“A mother-son psychodrama with ghosts and politics, but it’s also a tragicomedy about anger and sanctimony in America.... Nathan Hill is a maestro.” —John Irving

It’s 2011, and Samuel Andresen-Anderson—college professor, stalled writer—has a Nix of his own: his mother, Faye. He hasn’t seen her in decades, not since she abandoned the family when he was a boy. Now she’s re-appeared, having committed an absurd crime that electrifies the nightly news, beguiles the internet, and inflames a politically divided country. The media paints Faye as a radical hippie with a sordid past, but as far as Samuel knows, his mother was an ordinary girl who married her high-school sweetheart. Which version of his mother is true? Two facts are certain: she’s facing some serious charges, and she needs Samuel’s help.

To save her, Samuel will have to embark on his own journey, uncovering long-buried secrets about the woman he thought he knew, secrets that stretch across generations and have their origin all the way back in Norway, home of the mysterious Nix. As he does so, Samuel will confront not only Faye’s losses but also his own lost love, and will relearn everything he thought he knew about his mother, and himself.

©2016 Nathan Hill (P)2016 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

" The Nix is a mother-son psychodrama with ghosts and politics, but it's also a tragicomedy about anger and sanctimony in America.... Nathan Hill is a maestro." (John Irving)

"There is an accidental topicality in Hill's debut, about an estranged mother and son whose fates hinge on two mirror-image political events - the Democratic Convention of 1968 and the Republican Convention of 2004. But beyond that hook lies a high-risk, high-reward playfulness with structure and tone: comic set-pieces, digressions into myth, and formal larks that call to mind Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad." ( New York Magazine)

"Once in a while a novel arrives at the perfect moment to reflect, skewer, and provide context for the world as we know it. This - now - is that novel. A satirical, fast-paced romp through time and space, The Nix is ambitious, wide-ranging, and full of surprises. It gathers force and momentum as it speeds toward the end, where all of its pieces fit together as precisely as a puzzle." (Christina Baker Kline, author of Orphan Train)

Nathan Hill is an exceptional storyteller.

In an interview about The Nix, Nathan Hill said, "I stuffed it full of every idea I had. It became a repository of things in the world I was mad about, concerned and confused about." Luckily for me as a reader, he was mad, concerned, and confused about college professors and students they have to deal with, plagiarism, MMORPGs, politics, media, mother-son relationships, past deeds that haunt us, and choose-your-own adventure books. At 620 pages it's a big repository, and even though there were times I wished it had been edited down, there were more times that I wished the stories would go on and on. I started listening to The Nix as an audiobook, but know that the hardcover version weighs in at 620 pages because I bought it when I came to the embedded choose-your-own-adventure book. While "You Can Get The Girl!" is not strictly based upon the readers' choices, I loved this, as I have often longed for this format written for adults.

Reviewers that were not as enthralled with this book as I was seemed to think that Nathan Hill was trying to say something about America and how it has evolved/devolved since the sixties, and that may well have been his intention. Rather than look for a message, I simply enjoyed the multiple story lines, full of humor, sadness, satire, details, and thoughts that point out how funny, terrible, and ludicrous life can be (with all them often occurring simultaneously), like this one from Walter Cronkite's mind:

"It's a chilling thought, that politicians have learned to manipulate the television medium better than the television professionals themselves. When old Cronkite first realized this was happening he imagined the kinds of people who would become politicians in the future. And he shuddered with fear."

It's only September, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that The Nix is most likely the best book I'll read this year. Nathan Hill is an exceptional storyteller, and Ari Fliakos is the perfect narrator.

I adored this book and the narrator. Perfect.

Any additional comments?

Ari Fliakos's narration was outstanding. His rendition of Laura, the college student, was completely hilarious. I listened avidly to the entire book, even taking it with me while I walked the dog, because I couldn't stop listening. It was a wonderful romp, filled with great writing. It put me in mind of Donna Tartt's books. Thank you Nathan Hill, and thank you Ari Fliakos.

Profound

Intense, stimulated parts of myself that were unknown. Offers a perspective of love, relationships and the modern world that is both wise and simple.

A Good Book Poorly Edited

Where the red pen? Was the delete button malfunctioning? It is a good book, but fewer lengthy torrent-of-consciousness digressions would have made a much better novel.

Amazing!

This is an amazing and beautiful book, and it is incredibly enhanced by the reader, who does a stunning job of evoking the emotions of each character. This performance has completely sold me on audio books.

A trip through our times and temperament

A wonderful telling of political and personal values and actions. I bought it on a whim and now recommend it to everyone I know.

Wow. I'll be thinking of this for awhile.

This is the first review I've ever written. I'm compelled because this is one of the best books I've read in a decade. It is thought-provoking, terrifying and uplifting. My heart seized in my chest as these fully realized characters chose the wrong adventure and relief washed over me when they were true themselves. I'll be thinking about this one for awhile and trying to apply their realizations to my own life.

Exceptional, engaging story and characters

If you could sum up The Nix in three words, what would they be?

Deep, entertaining, surprising

What other book might you compare The Nix to and why?

Nothing springs to mind

Have you listened to any of Ari Fliakos’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but exceptionally well-match to story

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Being broken is sad and wonderful

TRICKSTERS

Nathan Hill models the mythology of tricksters in his latest novel, “The Nix”. In Hill’s story, “The Nix” is everyone’s companion; sometimes acknowledged—sometimes not, but always there. It plagues life with uncertainty. As an amoral spirit and seer, it carries the experience of generations. It carries the past; interferes with the present, and manipulates the future.

The purpose of “The Nix” in one’s life is to manipulate the future. “The Nix” plays with human lives. “The Nix” compels humans to hurt those who are closest to them.

Good and evil are two faces of “The Nix”.  It inhabits everyone’s life.  Humans have free will which can turn to either good and/or evil (as noted in Kierkegaard’s “Either, Or”).

Another implied meaning in Hill's story is that no one is perfect and everyone has life experience that influences who we are and who we become.  A cliché Hill infers is "...don't be critical of another when you have not walked in their shoes".  Understanding another's experience changes everything one thinks they know of whom they are judging.

With some criticism of the author’s use of too many clichés, “The Nix” is a clever and thoughtful reflection on mythology, history, and human behavior. One of Hill’s clever analogies about “History” is the example of the Chicago Democratic Convention in 1968. He describes the historical event as a drip of water, in a bucket of water; dropped into Lake Michigan.

The 1968 convention is like every event in history. One historical event is a part of a vast picture so big it cannot be seen whole; let alone, understood. The context of history is too big for any human being to understand. The idea of the “…Nix” encompasses a much larger picture than one historical event. “The Nix” implies every historical event is subjective. In other words, history never repeats, but it does rhyme.

OUTSTANDING BOOK

What did you love best about The Nix?

This book is wonderful from start to finish. There are literally laughing out loud funny moments and serious somber moments. An all-American tale.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ponage is my Favorite character. The funniest moments are in his scenes.

What does Ari Fliakos bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He has great narration. I like that I am able to tell which character is talking based on his ability to transition seamlessly from character to character.

If you could take any character from The Nix out to dinner, who would it be and why?

The mom.

Any additional comments?

Buy this book!!