- Home
- Fiction
- Family Life
- The Imagined Life (A Novel)
The Imagined Life (A Novel)
List Price:
$18.00
| Expected release date is Jul 7th 2026 |
- Availability: Confirm prior to ordering
- Branding: minimum 50 pieces (add’l costs below)
- Check Freight Rates (branded products only)
Branding Options (v), Availability & Lead Times
- 1-Color Imprint: $2.00 ea.
- Promo-Page Insert: $2.50 ea. (full-color printed, single-sided page)
- Belly-Band Wrap: $2.50 ea. (full-color printed)
- Set-Up Charge: $45 per decoration
- Availability: Product availability changes daily, so please confirm your quantity is available prior to placing an order.
- Branded Products: allow 10 business days from proof approval for production. Branding options may be limited or unavailable based on product design or cover artwork.
- Unbranded Products: allow 3-5 business days for shipping. All Unbranded items receive FREE ground shipping in the US. Inquire for international shipping.
- RETURNS/CANCELLATIONS: All orders, branded or unbranded, are NON-CANCELLABLE and NON-RETURNABLE once a purchase order has been received.
Product Details
Author:
Andrew Porter
Format:
Paperback
Pages:
288
Publisher:
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group (July 7, 2026)
Imprint:
Vintage
Release Date:
July 7, 2026
Language:
English
Audience:
General/trade
ISBN-13:
9780593686416
ISBN-10:
0593686411
Weight:
8.96oz
Dimensions:
5.1875" x 8" x 0.7188"
File:
RandomHouse-PRH_Book_Company_PRH_PRT_Onix_delta_active_D20260422T234802_155990002-20260422.xml
Folder:
RandomHouse
List Price:
$18.00
Country of Origin:
United States
Pub Discount:
65
Case Pack:
24
As low as:
$13.86
Publisher Identifier:
P-RH
Discount Code:
A
QuickShip:
Yes
Overview
A BEST BOOK OF 2025 IN THE NEW YORKER AND ESQUIRE • ONE OF NPR'S "BOOKS WE LOVE" • LONGLISTED FOR THE JOYCE CAROL OATES PRIZE AND THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN FICTION
A taut, elegiac novel about a man trying to uncover the truth about the father who left him behind
“Porter has quietly become one of the United States’ most reliably great fiction writers.” —NPR
Steven Mills has reached a crossroads. His wife and son have left, and they may not return. Which leaves him determined to find out what happened to his own father, a brilliant, charismatic professor who disappeared in 1984 when Steve was twelve, on a wave of ignominy.
As Steve drives up the coast of California, seeking out his father’s friends, family members, and former colleagues, the novel offers us tantalizing glimpses into Steve’s childhood—his parents’ legendary pool parties, the black-and-white films on the backyard projector, secrets shared with his closest friend. Each conversation in the present reveals another layer of his father’s past, another insight into his disappearance. Yet with every revelation, his father becomes more difficult to recognize. And, with every insight, Steve must confront truths about his own life.
Rich in atmosphere, and with a stunningly sure-footed emotional compass, The Imagined Life is a probing, nostalgic novel about the impossibility of understanding one’s parents, about first loves and failures, about lost innocence, about the unbreakable bonds between a father and a son.
A taut, elegiac novel about a man trying to uncover the truth about the father who left him behind
“Porter has quietly become one of the United States’ most reliably great fiction writers.” —NPR
Steven Mills has reached a crossroads. His wife and son have left, and they may not return. Which leaves him determined to find out what happened to his own father, a brilliant, charismatic professor who disappeared in 1984 when Steve was twelve, on a wave of ignominy.
As Steve drives up the coast of California, seeking out his father’s friends, family members, and former colleagues, the novel offers us tantalizing glimpses into Steve’s childhood—his parents’ legendary pool parties, the black-and-white films on the backyard projector, secrets shared with his closest friend. Each conversation in the present reveals another layer of his father’s past, another insight into his disappearance. Yet with every revelation, his father becomes more difficult to recognize. And, with every insight, Steve must confront truths about his own life.
Rich in atmosphere, and with a stunningly sure-footed emotional compass, The Imagined Life is a probing, nostalgic novel about the impossibility of understanding one’s parents, about first loves and failures, about lost innocence, about the unbreakable bonds between a father and a son.
