A luminous family saga from one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists.
When the four Essinger children gather in Austin for
Christmas, they all bring their news. Nathan wants to become a
federal judge. Susie’s husband has taken a job in England. Jean has
asked her boyfriend and (once-married) boss to meet her family.
Paul has broken up with Dana, mother of their son Cal. But their
parents have plans, too, and Liesel, the materfamilias, has invited
Dana and Cal to stay, hoping to bring them back together. As the
week unfolds, each of the Essingers has to confront the tensions
and conflicts between old families and new.
Rich, intimate, and deeply perceptive, Christmas in Austin
beautifully explores the deep-rooted division between the world
we grow up in, and the life we make for ourselves.