NPR

'The Altruists' Asks: How Do You Live A Good Life?

Andrew Ridker's sharp, compassionate first novel follows a family of flawed but sympathetic bumblers whose efforts to do good more often end up causing harm — to themselves and others.
Source: Viking

Andrew Ridker, still in his twenties, has uncorked a lively, tragicomic debut novel, a probe into questions that never get old: What constitutes a good, moral life, and how do you pull it off in this world?

Many first novels fall into one of two categories: the campus novel, or the dysfunctional family novel. combines the two, but don't let that put you off. Ridker elevates his book with a sharp eye for the absurdities of contemporary American culture

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