“Scott O'Connor speaks softly and somehow manages to make something beautiful of unspeakable matters... a voice so insistently stirring, you want to lean in close to catch every word.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Astonishing... Introducing an amazing new talent to the world of fiction.” —Library Journal (Starred Review)

“O'Connor's prose is as beautifully terse as his plot... like the inevitable waking from a halcyon dream.” —Booklist

“When it is over you wish you could read it all for the first time, again. That is how good this book is.” —Crimespree Magazine

A heartfelt, gripping novel from the critically acclaimed author of A Perfect Universe, Half World, and Among Wolves.

A year has passed since Lucy Darby's unexpected death, leaving her husband David and son Whitley to mend the gaping hole in their lives. With the looming uncertainty of Y2K, David is haunted by questions pertaining to the events of Lucy's death and Whitley—an 11-year-old social pariah who still believes his mother is alive—enlists the help of his small group of misfit friends to bring her back. As David continues to lose his grip on reality and Whitley's sense of urgency grows, the two begin to uncover truths that will force them to confront their deepest fears about each other and the wounded family they are trying desperately to save.

About The Author

Scott O'Connor

Scott O’Connor is the author of the novella Among Wolves, and the novels Untouchable and Half World. He has been awarded the B&N Discover Great New Writers Award, and his stories have been shortlisted for The Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award and cited as Distinguished in Best American Short Stories. He has written for Fox and Universal Television, as well as The New York Times Magazine and the Los Angeles Review of Books.

Product Details

Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press (May 1, 2011)
Length: 384 pages
ISBN13: 9781935562504

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Raves and Reviews

"Scott O'Connor speaks softly and somehow manages to make something beautiful of unspeakable matters...a voice so insistently stirring, you want to lean in close to catch every word." --The New York Times Book Review

"O'Connor's prose is as beautifully terse as his plot...squeezing the reader's emotions so that when the myth of the "perfect" family begins to dissolve...it feels like the inevitable waking from a halcyon dream." --Booklist

"Astonishing...Introducing an amazing new talent to the world of fiction." --Library Journal (Starred Review)

"Heartfelt...the story is involving and moves easily through material that could smother with treacle, but O'Connor's strong characters--especially the Kid, whose elementary school humiliations are especially well handled--and his ease with conveying their emotions keeps the novel afloat." -- Publishers Weekly

"There are no easy answers or safe archetypes here, nor is there a single iota of sugar-coating. The world of Scott O'Connor's debut novel is tough, worn, and thoroughly lived in, and is as vivid and painfully honest as anything I've read in a very long time. Do not sleep on Untouchable, this is the real thing." --Nathan Singer, author of A Prayer for Dawn and In the Light of You

"Once in a very long time, a book comes along that resonates and sings with heart. It's characters so real you want to touch them, hug them. Their peril so well told you are filled with fear as you are a mere observer of their adventure. You find yourself holding your breath as you read the last pages of the story for all could be lost or won in the confines of this bound paper. And when it is over you wish you could read it all for the first time, again. That is how good this book is." --Crimespree magazine