All illustrations by Jason Novak.

As Paris Reviewsubscribers know, every once in a while we serialize a novel. That is, we publish it in sections, usually over the course of a year, with recaps to bring new readers up to date. And we hire the best illustrators we can find—a stable that has included Tom Keogh, Leanne Shapton, Samantha Hahn, and a young “Andrew” Warhol. 

Over the past five years, we’ve brought you a lost work by Roberto Bolaño, a breakout novel by Rachel Cusk, and, most recently, the winner of this year’s Terry Southern Prize for Humor—a football novel for people who don’t know the rules—The Throwback Special, by Chris Bachelder, with illustrations by Jason Novak.

This month, The Throwback Specialcame out in hardcover—and the crowd, as they say, went wild. The Minneapolis Star Tribunecalls it “2016’s first Great Book … A wise, patient examination of American culture.” The Los Angeles Timespraises its “poignant comic magic … powerful, intelligent, and entertaining.” And now the New York Times Book Reviewhas weighed in: “Wistful and elegantly written … The Throwback Special conjures the rewarding melancholy of Richard Ford’s Frank Bascombe novels.”

Don’t miss the next great book of 2016, or years to come—subscribe now!