Spotlight: Ark

Introduction by Melissa Amster

When I was visiting family in NYC a few weeks ago, they introduced me to an author they know and he told me about his latest book, Ark. The author, Julian Tepper, was very nice and I enjoyed chatting with him. I later looked up the book and found out that it was narrated from a female perspective. I love when male authors write from a woman's point-of-view (ex. Wally Lamb) and thought it would be great to feature at CLC. 

Ben Arkin, patriarch of the family, is an artist who has never sold a piece. His children, Sondra, Doris, and Oliver run a record label that has never produced a hit, and that Ben and his wife have bankrolled. When Doris strikes out to form her own label, Sondra sues the entire Arkin family, setting about a series of events that ultimately lead to their demise. The story is told primarily from the perspective of Oliver’s daughter, Rebecca, an attorney who might be the only redeeming member of the Arkin family. Rebecca attempts to keep the family from collapsing, while trying desperately to extricate herself from their grasp.

Julian Tepper is an American author, born in Manhattan, in 1979. In 2011, he co-founded the Oracle Club, an arts club, in New York City. His first novel, Balls, was published in 2012. Ark is his second novel. His writing has appeared in the Paris Review, Manhattan Magazine, Kindling Quarterly, and the Huffington Post. Visit Julian at his website.