A Weekend in New York
Benjamin Markovits
Chair: Alex Clark
Paul Essinger, a tennis professional in his 30s, is about to play his final US Open. The bookies give him 1,200-1 odds on winning the title. Anxiety-ridden, comically unaware and boiling with tension, each member of the Essinger family — Paul included — is painfully trying to unpick an idea of themselves from the tableau of upper-middle-class life they present. Reflecting on their German-Jewish ancestry, Essinger senior ruefully ascribes their good fortune to ‘immigrants’ luck’. Benjamin Markovits’ new novel, A Weekend in New York, intertwines the politics of the household and the state to compile a wry portrait of the way we live now.
Benjamin Markovits grew up in Texas, London and Berlin. He is the author of seven novels and has published essays, stories, poetry and reviews in The Guardian, Granta, The Paris Review and The New York Times among other publications. He lives in London and teaches at Royal Holloway, University of London.
Alex Clark
Alex Clark is a literary journalist and broadcaster who writes for The Guardian and The Observer. She makes regular appearances on BBC Radio 4, chairs numerous literary events and is an experienced judge of literary awards.
