New Releases by Laura Z. Hobson

A struggling author’s unexpected success sparks a family conflict in this New York Times–bestselling novel by the author of Gentleman’s Agreement. For most of his career as a novelist, Gregory Johns has toiled in relative obscurity. His books have sold modestly, and he lives comfortably enough in the suburbs with his wife and daughter. He leaves the grand gestures and extravagant parties to his more expansive brother, Thornton, an insurance salesman who moonlights as Gregory’s literary agent. When Gregory’s latest book is unexpectedly selected for a notable prize, the brothers suddenly find themselves at the center of a publicity frenzy. With talk of a movie deal in the air, Gregory moves out to California—but it’s Thorn who really rises to the occasion, thriving on and encouraging the attention, while Gregory toils away dutifully at scripts and rewrites. At last, Thorn feels he is in his element—but what happens when the brothers’ fifteen minutes are up?

When a reporter pretends to be Jewish, he experiences anti-Semitism firsthand in the New York Times bestseller and basis for the Academy Award–winning film. Journalist Philip Green has just moved to New York City from California when the Third Reich falls. To mark this moment in history, his editor at Smith’s Weekly Magazine assigns Phil a series of articles on anti-Semitism in America. In order to experience anti-Semitism firsthand, Phil, a Christian, decides to pose as a Jew. What he discovers about the rampant bigotry in America will change him forever.

Two Russian socialists emigrate to the United States and begin the long process of becoming American in this novel by a #1 New York Times–bestselling author. Stefan and Alexandra Ivarin emigrated to America at the end of the nineteenth century. Russian Jewish socialists, the Ivarins are now established in a Long Island home designed, somewhat haphazardly, by Stefan. Despite their attempts at assimilation, the Ivarins find themselves still struggling to find a balance between their Russian roots and their American lives, between their past and their future—and those of their children. Based in part on Laura Z. Hobson’s own childhood, First Papers is a tender portrait of the tension involved in embracing a foreign culture full of opportunity while longing for a lost homeland, and “a warm-hearted novel” by the author of Gentleman’s Agreement (The Sunday Herald Tribune).

DIVDIVIn the shifting social landscape of America in the 1960s, a mother struggles to understand—and accept—her son’s homosexuality /divDIVTessa Lynn considers herself independent and progressive, a liberated woman of the 1960s. And yet, when she receives a letter from her youngest son, Jeff, informing her that he is gay, Tessa is distraught. At a time when homosexuality is regarded as a mental illness, she struggles with how best to be a parent to a gay son—and how to protect her family from the prejudices of the era./divDIVElegant and subtly drawn, Consenting Adult is a stunning tribute to familial bonds, and a sympathetic portrait of a mother whose best intentions are often clouded by the stereotypes of her time./div/div

A World War II refugee family struggles to reach America in the debut novel from the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Gentleman’s Agreement. As World War II rips through Europe, the Vederles have found themselves in an impossible situation. In temporary exile in Switzerland, the Vederles are caught in a bureaucratic limbo, unable to return home and unable to move on to their dreamed-of life in America. Their sponsor in the United States, Vera Marriner, is embroiled in her own sort of conflict: an affair with Jasper Crown, a radio magnate and egotist of the highest order. Herself the child of Russian socialists who found asylum in the United States, Laura Z. Hobson paints a stark contrast between the sheltered comfort of Vera’s life in New York and the tense, distant uncertainty of the complete strangers she hopes to rescue.

A novel of midlife motherhood and the basis for the TV movie starring Carol Burnett—from the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Gentleman’s Agreement. Dori Gray—married, then divorced, age forty, professional journalist—had given up hope of a child. A botched abortion left her functionally infertile, and after a string of bad relationships, Dori’s prospects have seemingly dwindled to naught. Then comes the astonishing revelation that she is pregnant—by her married ex-lover. Dori’s options are limited. Fearful that her doctor will decline to oversee an illegitimate birth, or that she’ll be forced into a hermitlike existence until the child is born, Dori confides in her married best friend, Celia Duke. Surprised by Celia’s confidence and support, Dori decides to confront her predicament head-on.