The Nix

The Nix is the 2016 debut novel by American Writer Nathan Hill.^[1] It's set across multiple decades and follows the life of Samuel Andresen-Anderson and his mother who abandoned him. The narration follows multiple perspectives and is told non-linearly jumping between the contemporary 2011 and the past of both Samuel and his mother.

The Nix

First edition
Author	Nathan Hill
Language	English
Publisher	Knopf
Publication date	30 August 2016
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (hardback and paperback)
ISBN	978-1-101-94661-9

Plot

The Nix is an American epic novel in ten parts that follows community college professor of English, Samuel Andresen-Anderson who is struggling to find meaning in his life in the years following his failure to write a book which he had already been paid an advance for. He was abandoned by his mother at a young age. Samuel seeks comfort in junk food, an acerbic inner-monologue, and a Second-Life-style internet game called Elfscape and generally struggles to find motivation or self-respect. One day, Samuel discovers that the mother who abandoned him has become a radical leftist activist who is under arrest for assaulting a public figure. When his editor (still after him for the writing for which he was given an advance) persuades Samuel to track down his mother, Samuel must confront and discover the various serpentine, complex, and at times, humorous figures and sub-plots from his youth to arrive. The book captures various periods of his mother's life and touches on many themes including isolation, friendship, love, life purpose, the Vietnam War, the Iraq War, feminine oppression, and the digital age.^[2]

Reception

Emily Forland an agent at Brandt & Hochman Literary reviewed the novel for Publishers Weekly stating "Hill skillfully blends humor and darkness, imagery and observation."^[3]

Kirkus Reviews hailed the author commenting "a grand entertainment, smart and well-paced, and a book that promises good work to come."^[4]

Reviews

• The Guardian
• The Independent
• The New York Times
• NPR
• Kenyon Review
• Christian Science Monitor
• USA Today
• The Washington Post

Awards and nominations^[5]

• 2016 Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Won)
• NBCC Leonard Award for Best Debut of the Year (Nominated)

Book of the Year^[6]

• New York Times
• The Washington Post
• NPR
• Amazon
• Slate
• The Huffington Post
• The Guardian
• Library Journal
• Buzzfeed
• Electric Lit
• Chicago Tribune
• USA Today
• Publisher's Lunch

#1 Book of the Year

• Audible
• Entertainment Weekly