The Imagined Life - A Novel

From the award-winning, internationally acclaimed writer, a taut, elegiac novel about a man trying to uncover the truth about the father who left him behind

“Packed with so much summer you can smell the chlorine of backyard pools and feel the sunscreen clinging to your skin.” —

Steven Mills has reached a crossroads. His wife and son have left, and they may not return. Which leaves him determined to find out what happened to his own father, a brilliant, charismatic professor who disappeared in 1984 when Steve was twelve, on a wave of ignominy.

As Steve drives up the coast of California, seeking out his father’s friends, family members, and former colleagues, the novel offers us tantalizing glimpses into Steve’s childhood—his parents’ legendary pool parties, the black-and-white films on the backyard projector, secrets shared with his closest friend. Each conversation in the present reveals another layer of his father’s past, another insight into his disappearance. Yet with every revelation, his father becomes more difficult to recognize. And, with every insight, Steve must confront truths about his own life.

Rich in atmosphere, and with a stunningly sure-footed emotional compass,

About the author

ANDREW PORTER is the author of the story collections The Disappeared and The Theory of Light and Matter and the novel In Between Days. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, he has received a Pushcart Prize, a James Michener/Copernicus Fellowship, and the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction. His short story "Angelo" was selected by Celeste Ng for the 2025 Best American Short Stories, and his work has appeared in One Story, Ploughshares, American Short Fiction, Narrative, The Southern Review, and on public radio’s Selected Shorts. Currently, he teaches fiction writing and directs the creative writing program at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX.

Summary

ONE OF NPR'S "BOOKS WE LOVE" • LONGLISTED FOR THE JOYCE CAROL OATES PRIZE • A taut, elegiac novel about a man trying to uncover the truth about the father who left him behind

“Porter has quietly become one of the United States’ most reliably great fiction writers.” —NPR

Steven Mills has reached a crossroads. His wife and son have left, and they may not return. Which leaves him determined to find out what happened to his own father, a brilliant, charismatic professor who disappeared in 1984 when Steve was twelve, on a wave of ignominy.

As Steve drives up the coast of California, seeking out his father’s friends, family members, and former colleagues, the novel offers us tantalizing glimpses into Steve’s childhood—his parents’ legendary pool parties, the black-and-white films on the backyard projector, secrets shared with his closest friend. Each conversation in the present reveals another layer of his father’s past, another insight into his disappearance. Yet with every revelation, his father becomes more difficult to recognize. And, with every insight, Steve must confront truths about his own life.

Rich in atmosphere, and with a stunningly sure-footed emotional compass, The Imagined Life is a probing, nostalgic novel about the impossibility of understanding one’s parents, about first loves and failures, about lost innocence, about the unbreakable bonds between a father and a son.

Product details

• Authors: Andrew Porter
• Publisher: Random House USA
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 14.10.2025
• EAN: 9798217339808
• ISBN: 9798217339808
• No. of pages: 368
• Dimensions: 154 mm x 234 mm x 24 mm
• Subject: Fiction > Narrative literature