In this riveting, ambitious novel from James A. Michener, the renowned chronicler of epic history turns his extraordinary imagination to a world he knew better than anyone: the world of books. Lukas Yoder, a novelist who has enjoyed a long, successful career, has finished what he believes to be his final work. Then a tragedy strikes in his community, and he becomes obsessed with writing about it. Meanwhile, Yoder’s editor fights to preserve her integrity—and her author—as her firm becomes the target of a corporate takeover; a local critic who teaches literature struggles with his ambitions and with his feelings about Yoder’s success; and a devoted reader holds the key to solving the mystery that haunts Yoder’s hometown. Praise for The Novel “Michener explores some of the deepest issues raised by narrative literature.” — The New York Times “A good, old-fashioned, sink-your-teeth-into-it story . . . lets us see an unfamiliar side of the author, at the same time portraying the delicate, complex relationship among editors, agents and writers.” The Philadelphia Inquirer “Michener loves literature, and his information about some of his favorite reading is almost as alluring as his explanation of how to handle a manuscript.” —Associated Press “So absorbing you simply will not want [it] to end.” —Charleston News & Courier