Ascent

From “a master of precision” (The Observer, London) comes an explosive, provocative novel about John F. Kennedy’s years in the White house: his political daring, his brave dedication to human rights, his devotion to his family—and his uncontrollable and unrelenting appetite for sexual adventure.

· Taut, magnificent prose: Mercurio’s premise—to chronicle Kennedy’s exploits, political and sexual, through the President’s own anguished but self-centered perspective—is bold to the point of hubris, but he succeeds in spades. The writing is elegant, spare, and wry; the narrative is exquisitely paced. The book’s ending is emotionally shattering— empathetic, redemptive, and shocking.

· Startlingly revisionist portrait of JFK: We see Kennedy at his best, as a visionary statesman, a former soldier turned moral pacifist, a loving parent and devoted husband. And we see him at his worst, as a compulsive philanderer whose countless conquests—of movie stars, socialites, secretaries, and interns—ruined hundreds of lives.

· Amazing cast of characters: They are all here: Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Angie Dickinson, Judith Campbell, LBJ, Fiddle and Faddle, Eisenhower, and perhaps most memorably, Jacqueline Kennedy.

"Gripping...Speaks volumes about heroism and the human condition in a taut, page-turning narrative." -- Simon Hills, The Times (U.K.)

"Haunting, powerful, and mysterious...a stunning debut from a writer who bears close attention ." -- Booklist

"Mercurio is a master of precision, armed, like Yeremin, with a razor-sharp eye. This is fighting-fit, muscular prose, which carries no dead weight. In short, it's that rarest of things -- a highbrow book that's vertiginously thrilling." -- Tancred Newbury, The Observer (U.K.)

"Ascent is storytelling of high caliber, fully imagined, finely crafted.... Mercurio's understated empathy, his starkly elegant prose and his Werner Herzog-like instinct for juxtaposition lift Ascent far above a Boy's Own adventure." -- Michael Faber, The Guardian (U.K.)