A Short MovE
A New York Times Editors’ Choice
A Most Anticipated Book of 2020 for ELLE and The Millions
Bookshop, IndieBound, Powell's, Barnes & Noble, Amazon
READ AN EXCERPT
A Most Anticipated Book of 2020 for ELLE and The Millions
Bookshop, IndieBound, Powell's, Barnes & Noble, Amazon
READ AN EXCERPT
Mitch Wilkins is a football player destined for greatness. From an inauspicious start in rural Virginia to the glamorous, ferocious heights of the NFL, his life unfolds across the stories of those who accompany him: his Vietnam veteran uncle, his patient working mom, an ambitious girlfriend, a talkative young teammate, a billionaire team owner, and more. But success doesn’t come without costs. As Mitch and his family struggle to find meaning within a relentlessly incentive-driven, forward-moving life, they routinely collide with each other, and with the limits of their own power.
REVIEWS AND PRAISE
"The beauty of the novel is that the teams don’t particularly matter. You go from one to another, your career hurtles on, your exhaustion grows. The pace of the storytelling here is breakneck — an entire life wind-sprints past — an elegant time-lapse in which we see the flower bud, bloom, wither, die. . . . This is definitely a good book for football fans. But it’s a great book for fans of men and boys, so many of them caught up in the dark world of dreams come true." New York Times Book Review "A moving family saga set against a backdrop of football and Americana." The Believer "The reader . . . meets Mitch at different points in life, sometimes seeing the world through Mitch's eyes, other times inhabiting the perspective of Mitch's parents, coaches, wives, and teammates. It's a kaleidoscopic approach that looks beyond one man's individual talent to the ecosystem of people, places, and industries that both nurture and exploit an athletic gift." The Millions "Football serves as the backdrop for Katherine Hill's second novel A Short Move, but you don't have to be a gridiron groupie to appreciate it. At its heart, the book . . . is about something everyone can relate to — trying to achieve the Great American dream. Even more compelling is what happens to star linebacker Mitch Wilkins after the dream comes to an end when he's still in his 30s." Newsday "In Katherine Hill’s second novel, you can still hear the marching band, grab a concession stand hot dog during halftime, and raise your voice with the cheerleaders. But this book is also a behind-the-scenes tour of our favorite American pastime, immersing readers in the world of football that we don’t often see on the field—one that reveals an ecosystem that defeats and exploits talent as much as nurtures it, exposing the price of fame and the allure of an American Dream only accessible to the chosen few." Fiction Writers Review "An unforgettable football and family epic that skillfully examines the price of fame." Largehearted Boy "Poignant...Fans of sweeping family epics will enjoy this dissection of fame, sports, and the drive for connection." Publishers Weekly “A Short Move is an ode to both the singular glory and the heavy cost of greatness. Katherine Hill uses the rhythms of the sports novel to explore everything from the complexities of masculinity to the illusion that is the American Dream—and makes the form her own in the process. This is a deeply felt and beautifully expansive novel, one that captures vital dimensions of American life.” Laura van den Berg, author of The Third Hotel "I submit that there is nothing you can’t get to about American culture through sports, and I further submit, as evidence, Exhibit A: A Short Move, Katherine Hill’s splendidly written and smartly observed second novel." David Shields, author of Reality Hunger and director of Marshawn Lynch: A History "In Katherine Hill’s audacious new novel, A Short Move, football is not only the subject, but a lens through which Hill examines contemporary life under capitalism. In Hill’s sharply observed, brilliant prose, this ur-American game ultimately becomes a metaphor for human relationships, for the ecstasy and vulnerability within the body, and for life itself. This is a beautifully written novel about loss and endurance, about men and women doing the best they can with the gifts they’ve been given." René Steinke, author of Friendswood “A Short Move is an expansive and beautifully written novel. Through the story of star linebacker Mitch Wilkins, Katherine Hill explores the sacrifices men make to become legends, and the toll their fame takes on everyone close to them. This book is about more than just the complicated and contradictory life of a football star who wishes he were a better man; it is a profound depiction of masculinity, obsession, power, and the unexpected beauty we find even in our darkest hours.” Tom McAllister, author of How to Be Safe |