Media Center: 'Seating Arrangements' by Maggie Shipstead

WHO:
Maggie Shipstead

WHAT:
SEATING ARRANGEMENTS, a novel

WHEN:
Published by Knopf June 15, 2012

WHERE:
Author tour to Boston, Connecticut, Maine, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, and Washington DC

WHY:
“Zestful yet acerbic…a crackerjack first novel.
“A seriocomic romp in a Meet the Fockers vein, Shipstead’s satire follows the presumptive merging of the über-WASP Van Meter and Duff clans on the occasion of the marriage of seven-months-pregnant Daphne to steadfast Greyson.
“The ensemble of petulant sisters and stalwart mothers, tipsy aunts and boorish brothers is led in all its hauteur and debauchery by Daphne’s father, Winn, a crusty Boston banker more concerned with his unsuccessful bid for membership in the Pequod Club than with his family’s happiness on this vital weekend. As he seeks to assuage the affront with an ill-timed dalliance with Daphne’s bridesmaid, past wrongs, present slights, and future injustices coalesce in a stew of zany proportions.
“For all its madcap quirkiness, Shipstead’s adroit escapade artfully delivers a poignant reflection on the enduring if frustrating nature of love, hope, and family.” —Carol Haggas, in BOOKLIST

Media Resources:
About the book | Author Bio | Excerpt | Download the jacket or the author photos | Listen to the RH Audiobook

Publicity:
Sara Eagle | 212-572-2195 | seagle@randomhouse.com