Love May Fail: A Novel

“Inspiring... Matthew Quick has a way with wounded characters.” — Boston Globe “Mr. Quick excels at writing what he knows, and making readers feel intimately connected to his characters. Love May Fail also reflects his mastery of devising humorous dialogue, interlaced with rabid vulgarity.” — Wall Street Journal “[One of] the seven books you have to read this summer” — Marie Claire “Ultimate summer reading.” — Good Housekeeping “A well-told tale of how, through will or force, even the most broken people can sometimes be repaired…. Enjoyable, cinematic.” — Philadelphia Inquirer “Quick nails it again with his quirky-but-damaged characters and gritty real-life stories―but this time, it’s an ex-wife of a cheating pornographer, her hoarder of a mother, and her former high school English teacher both moving and delighting us.” — Glamour.com “An offbeat odyssey and a really fun end-of-summer ride.” — Parade “There’s always reason to hope in [Quick’s] novels…A lovely, entertaining book.” — New York Daily News “I couldn’t put it down.” — Pittsburg Post-Gazette “Instead of breaking your heart, Quick steals it, strengthens it and gives it back….a fine writer with a gift similar to that of fellow American novelist John Irving―creating quirky, flawed but ultimately lovable and deeply human main characters.” — Winnipeg Free Press “Great, heart-wrenching…[one of] the best mainstream books of the month…this tale of love and loss still makes us want to buy stock in the Kleenex company.” — RT Book Reviews “Quick specializes in offbeat characters who’ve been knocked down but won’t stay down….Both irreverent and inspiring, this unique read belongs in every beach bag.” — Nashville Arts “Charming.” — Costal Living “The turn of a few pages is all it took for me to fall in love with Matthew Quick’s latest homage to the subtleties of joy…a madly quirky, utterly lovely world.” — Roanoke Times “Capra-esque…engaging.” — Fort Worth Star-Telegram “A funny and poignant family drama…great summer read.” — News & Observer (NC) “Brilliant…compulsively readable…a plot that keeps you guessing…wholly transporting…Quick has a uniquely rewarding voice and one that, for his native Philadelphia, is creating a space in contemporary fiction all of its own.” — GQ (UK) “Complex and thought-provoking American comedy about love and the meaning of life.” — Daily Mail (UK) “Alive with humanity, empathy and wit…a beautifully readable novel by a writer of power and insight.” — Coast (NZ) “Listeners will be exhilarated by this loving tribute to teachers, writers, and literature.” — AudioFile “Funny, fierce and heartfelt.” — Satellite Sisters “An easy, enjoyable, and thoughtful read with laughs and tears along the way. Quick’s devotees won’t be disappointed.” — Library Journal “Quick, an ex-teacher, nails the symbiotic student-teacher relationship, with all of its attendant baggage, squarely on the head in this engaging slice-of-life dramedy with definite big-screen potential.” — Booklist “Darkly funny.... readers will be engrossed.” — Publishers Weekly Portia Kane is having a meltdown. After escaping her ritzy Florida life and her cheating pornographer husband, she finds herself back in South Jersey, a place that remains largely unchanged from the years of her unhappy youth. Lost and alone, looking for the goodness she believes still exists in the world, Portia sets off on a quest to save the one man who always believed in her—and in all of his students: her beloved high school English teacher, Mr. Vernon, who has retired broken and alone after a traumatic classroom incident. Will a sassy nun, an ex–heroin addict, a metalhead little boy, and her hoarder mother help or hurt Portia’s chances on this quest to resurrect a good man and find renewed hope in the human race? Love May Fail is a story of the great highs and lows of existence, and of the heartache and daring choices it takes to become the person you know (deep down) you are meant to be. Matthew Quick (aka Q) is the New York Times bestselling author of several novels, including The Silver Linings Playbook , which was made into an Oscar-winning film, and The Good Luck of Right Now . His work has been translated into thirty languages and has received a PEN/Hemingway Award Honorable Mention. Q lives with his wife, the novelist-pianist Alicia Bessette, on North Carolina's Outer Banks. Read more