Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bear v. Shark | 2001 | Chris Bachelder | Buy |
| 2 | U.S.! | 2006 | Chris Bachelder | Buy |
| 3 | Abbott Awaits | 2011 | Chris Bachelder | Buy |
| 4 | The Throwback Special | 2015 | Chris Bachelder | Buy |
| 5 | Dayswork | 2023 | Chris Bachelder | Buy |
Chris Bachelder’s five novels share an interest in American ritual, obsession, and masculinity, though the style shifts across his career. His early work is formally experimental: Bear v. Shark (2001) mimics TV segments and media fragments, while U.S.! (2006) uses a kaleidoscopic structure to tell the story of Upton Sinclair being repeatedly assassinated and resurrected.
His later novels are more realist on the surface but still tightly controlled. Abbott Awaits (2011) is a domestic novel told in short chapters about a professor’s summer with a toddler and a pregnant wife. The Throwback Special (2015), his best-known book and a National Book Award finalist, follows 40 middle-aged men who re-enact the 1985 play in which Lawrence Taylor broke Joe Theismann’s leg. Dayswork (2023), co-written with Jennifer Habel, blends fiction and scholarship around a woman’s devotion to Herman Melville.