19 September 2023
NEW YORK (KSNW) — A Maize High graduate’s second novel has been selected by Oprah as her book of the month for her book club.
Nathan Hill is a 1994 graduate of Maize High School. His debut novel “The Nix,” released in 2016, became an overnight success, shooting to the top of the New York Times Best Seller list, thanks in part to glowing reviews from celebrated authors like John Irving.
Oprah officially announced Hill’s second novel “Wellness” is her new Book of the Month. Hill learned of the selection when Oprah surprised him by joining in on a Zoom meeting with his publisher, Penguin Random House, according to the Associated Press.
Penguin Random House gives this synopsis of the book:
When Jack and Elizabeth meet as college students in the ’90s, the two quickly join forces and hold on tight, each eager to claim a place in Chicago’s thriving underground art scene with an appreciative kindred spirit. Fast-forward twenty years, and now they’re grappling with the routines of married life, the challenges of parenting, and the indignities of aging—not to mention cults of positive thinking, polyamorous would-be suitors, Facebook trolls, NIMBY protests, and something called Love Potion Number Nine.
For the first time, Jack and Elizabeth struggle to recognize each other, and the no-longer-youthful dreamers are forced to face their demons, from unfulfilled career ambitions to painful childhood memories of their own dysfunctional families. In the process, they have to undertake separate, personal excavations, or risk losing the best thing in their lives: each other.
Penguin Random House
Hill, a former college professor, lives with his wife in Naples, Florida.