Fulfillment

“Ominous encounters, star-crossed lovers, rifts between red and blue America, flawless prose: Fulfillment expands on themes and technique laid down in Groundskeeping. . . . Is our nation too big to fail, or is it failing because we’re too big, a vastness corralled into social networks? This is the urgent question Cole poses, his brilliant book more than a tale of a small-town adultery and its consequences. . . . Don’t look now, but a colossal literary career is sneaking in under the radar.” —The Washington Post

“Compulsively readable. . . . As well as illicit sex, the plot involves a drugs heist, crank calls and a loaded gun, adding a crackle of jeopardy to Cole’s gift for fizzy dialogue and killer comic timing as he gently takes the temperature of modern America. Strongly recommended.” —Daily Mail

“Cole has an astute ear for the verbal racket of modern life. . . . Fulfillment is engaging, thoughtful and bang up-to-date.” —The Times (London)

“A riveting tale about hope and desire.” —The Economist

“Cole mixes the angst and insecurity of class and poverty to craft a Molotov cocktail he lobs with exacting precision.” —Booklist (starred review)

“An evocative tale of ambition, lust, and sibling rivalry in western Kentucky. . . . [Cole] writes gorgeously descriptive sentences.” —Publishers Weekly

“Cole perfectly captures a particular kind of charming yet frustrating character: a slow-to-launch, aspiring Southern writer who makes ill-considered decisions that throw his life into disarray. Clearly, this is Cole’s wheelhouse.” —Kirkus