Man Alive!: A Novel

"With impressive intelligence and warm humor," an acclaimed author explores a family's undoing after the patriarch's brush with death (People Magazine).

All it takes is a quarter to change pediatric psychiatrist Dr. Owen Lerner's life. When the coin he's feeding into a parking meter is struck by lightning, Lerner survives, except that now all he wants to do is barbecue. What will happen to his patients, who rely on him to make sense of their world? More important, what will happen to his family? The bolt of lightning that lifts Lerner into the air sends the entire Lerner clan into free fall.

Man Alive! captures Owen and Toni Lerner and their nearly grown children so vividly you'll be looking over your shoulder to make sure the author hasn't been watching your own family in action. A Washington Post Notable Fiction Book

“A family novel for smart people. . . . terrific.” ―Carolyn See, The Washington Post

“Vividly alive and breathing. A sparkling book.” ―Alice McDermott, National Book Award-winning author of Charming Billy

“Witty and engaging .” ―Tom Perrotta, author of The Leftovers and Little Children

“Mary Kay Zuravleff dissects family life with great heart and rapier wit.” ―Parade

“The scenes and dialogue jump off the pages…Man Alive! is electric.” ―Huffington Post

“Zuravleff is an exuberant writer with a sharp sense of humor…her satiric jabs . . . and joyful wordplay offer plenty to savor.” —Booklist

"A compelling story, beautifully written, about a family faced with a crisis, given a strikingly original spin by a gifted novelist." —Shelf Awareness

© 2024 Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Ebook): 9780374709457

Release date

Ebook: 4 September 2024