Longlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction 2020
As America recovers from the Second World War, two families' journeys begin.
James Vincent, born in 1942 to an Irish-American family, escapes his parents' turbulent marriage and attends law school in New York, where he moves up the social ladder as a prosperous and bright attorney.
Meanwhile, Agnes Miller, a beautiful black woman on date with a handsome suitor, is pulled over by the police on a rural road in Georgia. The terrible moments that follow make her question her future and pivot her into a hasty marriage and new life in the Bronx.
Illuminating more than six decades of sweeping change - from the struggle for civil rights and the chaos of Vietnam to Obama's first year as President - James and Agnes's families will come together in unexpected, intimate and profoundly human ways.
Publisher: Vintage Publishing
ISBN: 9781784708863
Number of pages: 320
Weight: 256 g
Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 20 mm
The Travelers is a rare debut that heralds what should be a long and promising career. - Times Literary Supplement
An astoundingly audacious debut. - Oprah Magazine
Regina Porter’s sprawling, sparkling debut novel… is an exhilarating ride. Porter is a wickedly astute chronicler of human foibles. In her hands, this series of glimpses feels something like life itself. - Guardian
Spanning six decades and three continents…[The Travelers] is held together by an elegant web of connections… Porter has a striking habit of telescoping time to chart individual trajectories… The often breathtaking immediacy and assurance of Porter’s prose carries you through. - Daily Mail
If you’re looking for a poetic, spare, sometimes funny tale of ordinary people pining for meaningful connections — or if you’re someone who wishes Raymond Carver had published a novel — you have arrived. - New York Times
A book that follows different family members. Simply put, I thought it was well documented and written with care. Mixing humour and poignancy. Dealing with complex themes and multiple layers. Drawing inspiration from... More
‘The Travellers’ spans through five decades telling the story of two families, one black & one white, over the years channelling various present-day themes such as race, politics & love relating how the past... More
My first impression was that this was going to be a challenging read and to a certain extent, it was but do stick with it. It read like a series of short stories, the same event frequently being observed by more than... More
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