A staggering portrait of a crumbling utopia, this "timeless and vast"
novel filled with the "raw beauty" beautifully depicts an idyllic
commune in New York State -- and charts its eventual yet inevitable
downfall (Janet Maslin, The New York Times).**
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
"Timeless and vast... The raw beauty of Ms. Groff's prose is one of the
best things about Arcadia. But it is by no means this book's only kind
of splendor."---Janet Maslin, The New York Times
"Even the most incidental details vibrate with life Arcadia wends a
harrowing path back to a fragile, lovely place you can believe
in."---Ron Charles, The Washington Post
In the fields of western New York State in the 1970s, a few dozen
idealists set out to live off the land, founding a commune centered on
the grounds of a decaying mansion called Arcadia House. Arcadia
follows this romantic utopian dream from its hopeful start through its
heyday. Arcadia's inhabitants include Handy, the charismatic leader; his
wife, Astrid, a midwife; Abe, a master carpenter; Hannah, a baker and
historian; and Abe and Hannah's only child, Bit. While Arcadia rises and
falls, Bit, too, ages and changes. He falls in love with Helle, Handy's
lovely, troubled daughter. And eventually he must face the world beyond
Arcadia.
In Arcadia, Groff displays her literary gifts to stunning effect.
"Fascinating."---People (****)
"It's not possible to write any better without showing off."---Richard
Russo, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Empire Falls
"Dazzling."---Vogue
