''The Nix'' is the 2016 debut novel by American Writer Nathan Hill. It's set across multiple decades and follows the life of Samuel Andresen-Anderson and his mother who abandoned him. The narration follows multiple perspectives and is told non-linearly jumping between the contemporary 2011 and the past of both Samuel and his mother.

Plot

''The Nix'' is an American epic novel in ten parts that follows community college professor of English, Samuel Andresen-Anderson who is struggling to find meaning in his life in the years following his failure to write a book which he had already been paid an advance for. He was abandoned by his mother at a young age. Samuel seeks comfort in junk food, an acerbic inner-monologue, and a Second-Life-style internet game called ''Elfscape'' and generally struggles to find motivation or self-respect. One day, Samuel discovers that the mother who abandoned him has become a radical leftist activist who is under arrest for assaulting a public figure. When his editor (still after him for the writing for which he was given an advance) persuades Samuel to track down his mother, Samuel must confront and discover the various serpentine, complex, and at times, humorous figures and sub-plots from his youth to arrive. The book captures various periods of his mother's life and touches on many themes including isolation, friendship, love, life purpose, the

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Reception

Emily Forland an agent at Brandt & Hochman Literary reviewed the novel for

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

stating "Hill skillfully blends humor and darkness, imagery and observation."

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

hailed the author commenting "a grand entertainment, smart and well-paced, and a book that promises good work to come."

Reviews

The Guardian

NPRKenyon ReviewChristian Science MonitorUSA Today

Awards and nominations

* 2016 Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Won) * NBCC Leonard Award for Best Debut of the Year (Nominated)

Book of the Year

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* NPR *

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* Buzzfeed * Electric Lit *

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Publisher's Lunch

#1 Book of the Year

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nix, The 2016 American novels 2016 debut novels Alfred A. Knopf books Tragicomedy novels