From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Overstory and Bewilderment, a visionary novel about the failings of the American dream.

'It's not possible for powers to write an uninteresting book' Margaret Atwood

In Lacewood, Illinois, Laura Bodey, a divorced mother of two and real estate agent, plunges into a new existence when she learns that she has cancer.

This same small town is home to Clare & Company, a soap manufacturer begun by three brothers in nineteenth-century Boston. Over the course of more than a century, it transforms into a powerful international corporation.

Clare & Company's stunning growth reflects America's kaleidoscopic history, yet for Laura and her family, this wild success has profound and lasting consequences.

'Penetrating and splendidly written... Dazzling' New York Times

"Erudite, penetrating and splendidly written... Dazzling" - New York Times

"One can only admire Powers's breadth of vision, his erudition and powers of analysis" - The Times

"A brilliant novel" - Daily Telegraph