The Latecomer

The new page-turner from the New York Times bestselling author of The Plot andYou Should Have Known, which became the major hit series The Undoing

The Oppenheimer triplets have been reared with every advantage: wealth, education, and the determined attention of at least one of their parents. But they have been desperate to escape each other ever since they were born.

Now, on the verge of their departure for college and so close to their long-coveted freedom, the triplets are forced to contend with an unexpected complication: a fourth Oppenheimer sibling has just been born. What has possessed their parents to make such an unfathomable decision? The triplets can't begin to imagine the the power this little latecomer is about to exert - nor just how destructive she'll be to their plans . . .



FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE UNDOING - NOW A MAJOR TV SERIES

Review

"The Latecomer is consistently surprising. Its protagonists reinvent themselves with astonishing ingenuity. Fair warning to readers seeking "likable characters": The people here are fierce, and they fight dirty. The Oppenheimers dare you to love them - and even when you don't, you cannot look away. Korelitz combines moral inquiry with social satire. Like Wharton, she invites the reader to reflect, even as she paints a picture of privilege. A sumptuously wrapped gift, "The Latecomer" is a Gilded Age novel for the 21st century." -- Allegra Goodman ― New York Times Book Review

Korelitz deftly limns this tension-riddled setup and the resulting Oppenheimer family dysfunction . . . The resolution, complete with a wedding, persuasively and touchingly affirms that even the most damaged people can grow and change. ― Kirkus

The New York Times bestselling author of The Plot (whose 2014 novel, You Should Have Known, was turned into the HBO series The Undoing) returns with a novel about a rich New York City family whose lives are upended when the parents decide to have a fourth child-when their triplets are 18. If you thrive on tales of dysfunction and privilege told with humor and tenderness-and let's face it, who doesn't?-it'll be tough to wait until May, the publication month for this eagerly awaited novel ― Oprah Daily, 'The 50 Most Anticipated Books of 2022'

Jean Hanff Korelitz is an ambidextrous writer: not only can she write a tight and absorbing literary thriller like The Plot, but with The Latecomer she draws us in again, this time with her ease, grace and wit, in a satisfying novel that spans generations, lives, and fates. -- Meg Wolitzer

It's a slow burn, but this complex and layered story of the Oppenheimer family is worth hanging on through every torturous turn. ― Good Housekeeping

It is about luxury, misery, art and the pursuit of pleasure. Imagine being on the Orient Express as it slowly morphs into a rollercoaster. The result is a hell of a ride. ― Sunday Times Crime Club

A scintillatingly observant and witty novel of family disfunction. ― Literary Review

A satisfyingly sprawling saga . . . deliciously appealing. [Korelitz] is a writer of many talents. ― Financial Times

Each new twist triggers bright, witty insights into the complexities of sibling bonds as well as art, infidelity and more. ― Guardian

An immersive tragicomedy, with all manner of unexpected twists and turns, that put me in mind of the work of writers such as Meg Wolitzer and Ann Patchett. ― Irish Times

Effervescently funny. ― Telegraph

A very satisfying read [with a] wry and incisive narrative voice. ― Daily Mail

A major novel, with surprises, twists, wicked characterisation and so much more . . . This is modern American lit à la John Irving and a delight to read and engage with . . . One to savour. ― Crime Time

About the Author

Jean Hanff Korelitz was born and raised in New York City and graduated from Dartmouth College and Clare College, Cambridge. She is the bestselling author of the novels A Jury Of Her Peers, The Sabbathday River, The White Rose, Admission, and most recently the New York Times bestseller You Should Have Known, as well as Interference Powder, a novel for middle grade readers, and The Properties of Breath, a collection of poetry. A film version of Admission starring Tina Fey, Paul Rudd and Lily Tomlin was released in 2013.