The Twenty-Seventh City: Difference between revisions
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The merger fails, in large part due to voter apathy, and this major setback in her plans, combined with a chronic lack of sleep and deep depression, is enough to cause Jammu to commit suicide; meanwhile, tragic turns of events end in Barbara Probst being accidentally killed, Martin's family fractured forever due to hidden causes he cannot understand. |
The merger fails, in large part due to voter apathy, and this major setback in her plans, combined with a chronic lack of sleep and deep depression, is enough to cause Jammu to commit suicide; meanwhile, tragic turns of events end in Barbara Probst being accidentally killed, Martin's family fractured forever due to hidden causes he cannot understand. |
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==External links== |
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* [http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/1992/01/20/terra-not-so-firma.html Laura Shapiro in ''Newsweek'' on ''The Twenty-Seventh CIty''] |
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* [http://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/09/books/crime-mystery-jammu-has-plans-for-st-louis.html?src=pm ''The New York Times'' on ''The Twenty-Seventh CIty''] |
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Revision as of 19:55, 30 December 2011
 | This article consists almost entirely of a plot summary. (December 2011) |
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Jonathan Franzen |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Jacket design by Fred Marcellino |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
Publication date | September 1, 1988 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardback and Paperback) |
| Pages | 517 pp (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-374-27972-1 (first edition, hardback) Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
| OCLC | 17619684 |
| 813/.54 19 | |
| LC Class | PS3556.R352 T8 1988 |
The Twenty-Seventh City is Jonathan Franzen's debut novel, published in 1988.
Synopsis
A complex, partly satirical thriller that studies a family unraveling under intense pressure, the novel is set amidst intricate political conspiracy and financial upheaval in St. Louis, Missouri in the year 1984.
Plot
The story proper begins when S. Jammu, an Indian woman who previously served as police commissioner of Bombay takes over duties as the new St. Louis chief of police. Her surprise appointment is greeted with confusion and suspicion, especially among the political and business elite that make up the county's advisory board, Municipal Growth. Over the coming months, a combination of a cult of personality, a Native American terrorist group, blackmail, and extortion bring most of the city leaders either to support Jammu, or under her thumb. Those not won over or suppressed include General Norris, a right-wing business owner, and Martin Probst, a local construction magnate. While Probst's initial misgivings are more to do with maintaining impartiality, his concerns are deepened by Norris's reports of Jammu's associates engaging in illegal activites, including surveillance of political opponents.
A proposed merger between the city and county, part of a larger property speculation scheme hatched by Jammu and her cohorts, begins a clash between Jammu and Probst. Jammu acts as the figurehead for the merger whilst Probst reluctantly leads the opposition movement. Further pressure is brought to bear on Martin Probst in order to make him endorse Jammu and his family life begins to suffer. First, his 17-year-old daughter, Luisa, moves out of the family home to live with an older man called Duane Thompson. Then Martin's wife, Barbara, is seduced and ultimately kidnapped by a Jammu's subordinate Balwan Singh, even as Martin is led to believe that Barbara has left him for another man. Despite the public politics and private intrigues, Martin Probst and S. Jammu find themselves drawn to each other and eventually sleep together.
The merger fails, in large part due to voter apathy, and this major setback in her plans, combined with a chronic lack of sleep and deep depression, is enough to cause Jammu to commit suicide; meanwhile, tragic turns of events end in Barbara Probst being accidentally killed, Martin's family fractured forever due to hidden causes he cannot understand.
External links
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