An embezzling wife and mother's life is turned upside down when she
suddenly goes on the lam.
For Marion Palm--the intriguing criminal antihero of Emily Culliton's clever, satirical first novel--life didn't turn out the way she'd
imagined, and it takes a darker turn when she's forced to go on the lam.
Marion, a 30-something, unassuming wife and mother, is married to Nathan, a
narcissist and would-be poet who is dependent on a dwindling trust fund. She is
also the mother of two daughters--ages eight and 13--who are plagued with
adolescent problems and dramas. Restlessness and dysfunction burden all the
Palms. However, over the years, Marion--and $180,000 she managed to embezzle
from her part-time job in the development office of her daughters' private
school in Brooklyn--has been the glue that's kept the family together. The
money didn't buy them happiness per se, but it managed to finance trips to
Europe and fund state-of-the-art appliances for their brownstone. When Marion
learns the school is to be audited by the IRS, she panics, ditching her family
and running away with the last $40,000 of her secret, stolen stash. But where
will she go, and what will she do?
Marion's sudden disappearance affects all in her orbit: her family, police and
detectives, her coworkers, fellow parents and a disgruntled school board. By
unraveling The Misfortune of Marion Palm
from various points of view, Culliton creates a richly entertaining, well-drawn
mosaic of a complex woman, her motivations and her madcap, illuminating adventure.
Knopf, $25.95, 9781524731908, 304 pages
Publication
Date: August 8, 2017
NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted with
the permission of Shelf Awareness.
To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (September 12, 2017), link HERE