Based upon Availability: A Novel

by Alix Strauss

Overview

“Like a beautifully-wrapped gift box, full of unexpected pleasures. Alix Strauss proves herself to be an astute and deeply feeling observer of human nature.”
—Dani Shapiro, author of Black & White

A stunning, wise, and witty second novel from renowned trend journalist Alix Strauss, Based Upon Availability chisels away at the exteriors of eight smart and intriguing women while delving deep inside to see what they’re truly made of. Following her Ingram Award-winning The Joy of Funerals—named Best Debut Novel by The New York Resident—Based Upon Availability is women’s literary fiction at its finest.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061845260
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/08/2010
Pages:	340
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Alix Strauss is a lifestyle trend writer who appears on national morning and talk shows. Her articles have been published in the New York Times, Marie Claire, Time, and Entertainment Weekly, among other publications. She is the author of The Joy of Funerals, Have I Got a Guy for You, and Death Becomes Them: Unearthing the Suicides of the Brilliant, the Famous, and the Notorious.

What People are Saying About This

Jennifer Belle

“It’s Eloise from the Plaza, now 32 and running the hotel, with a hint of the S&M of Mary Gaitskill and the elegant precision of Lorrie Moore—and the touch of Strauss’s own signature macabre that I adore.”

Darin Strauss

“Alix Strauss is one of the most enjoyable writers in this or any country. Based Upon Availability is fun, smart and beautiful.”

Shari Goldhagen

“There’s a story behind every room at Manhattan’s famed Four Seasons Hotel, and in her engaging novel Alix Strauss weaves them together in a dark and complicated tapestry. From the seemingly put-together manager to the aging rock star, every character has a secret and nothing is what it seems.”

Dani Shapiro

“BASED UPON AVAILABILITY is like a beautifully-wrapped gift box, full of unexpected pleasures. Alix Strauss proves herself to be an astute and deeply feeling observer of human nature.”

Liz Smith

“This is the classic read-it-in-one-big-gulp book. Or spend several days at the beach with it; compelling from first page to last — edgy, moving, human.”

Editorial Reviews

Strauss's stellar first novel (after story collection The Joy of Funerals) chronicles the loneliness of New Yorkers loosely connected by the swanky Four Seasons hotel. Hotel manager Morgan, Strauss's strongest protagonist, longs for the company of her older sister, Dale, who died of leukemia as a child. She's in a go-nowhere relationship and hoping to find a friend in Trish Hemingway, an artist and gallery owner who reminds her of Dale. Trish, meanwhile, is coming to terms with growing apart from her best friend, and she's not fully over her fiancé, who left her shortly before they were to be married. Subplots play out and scenes are revisited courtesy of a number of perspectives—hotel employees, friends and family, hotel guests—creating a near mosaic with twinges of darkness, thanks largely to the strange and unexpected things that go on behind hotel doors: the s&m gear Morgan steals after snooping in a guest's room, an abused woman found tied to a bed. Strauss's ending, which strives to be hopeful, comes off as abrupt; otherwise, this is quite sublime. (June)

Publishers Weekly

This sharp and brilliant novel shows that truth cannot be seen from the outside. You’ll absorb every anecdote’s last detail as real human connection resurfaces and these women take steps to become the people they’ve always dreamed they’d be.” — Elle

“Strauss has a knack for inserting the kinds of surprises that shock but also strengthen the impact of the novel. ” — More.com

“This is the classic read-it-in-one-big-gulp book. Or spend several days at the beach with it; compelling from first page to last — edgy, moving, human.” — Liz Smith, Page Six

“Colorful writing...Strauss takes on famed New York lodging the Four Seasons, filling the storied hostelry with colorful women characters who share a common human bond.” — New York Post

“Strauss has a knack for inserting the kinds of surprises that shock but also strengthen the impact of the novel. ” — Baltimore Morning Sun

“Stellar...Subplots play out and scenes are revisited courtesy of a number of perspectives—hotel employees, friends and family, hotel guests—creating a near mosaic with twinges of darkness....this is quite sublime. — Publishers Weekly

“Mesmerizing...the characters in this moving novel are achingly sympathetic, their plights eminently relatable.” — Booklist

“Imminently entertaining…an insightful and engrossing character study of eight women not so very different than you or I. Looking past their superficial differences, you will find yourself identifying, in at least some small measure, with each and every one of them—like it or not!” — Bookclubcheerleader.com

From Strauss (stories: The Joy of Funerals, 2003, etc.), a novel concerning a Manhattan Four Seasons manager who witnesses the alarmingly bleak lives of women (herself included) confronting the loss of youth...These New York stories will remind some readers of Parker—as in Dorothy, not Sarah Jessica. — Kirkus Reviews

“BASED UPON AVAILABILITY is like a beautifully-wrapped gift box, full of unexpected pleasures. Alix Strauss proves herself to be an astute and deeply feeling observer of human nature.” — Dani Shapiro, author of Black & White

“There’s a story behind every room at Manhattan’s famed Four Seasons Hotel, and in her engaging novel Alix Strauss weaves them together in a dark and complicated tapestry. From the seemingly put-together manager to the aging rock star, every character has a secret and nothing is what it seems.” — Shari Goldhagen, author of Family and Other Accidents

“Alix Strauss is one of the most enjoyable writers in this or any country. Based Upon Availability is fun, smart and beautiful.” — Darin Strauss, author of More Than It Hurts You

“It’s Eloise from the Plaza, now 32 and running the hotel, with a hint of the S&M of Mary Gaitskill and the elegant precision of Lorrie Moore—and the touch of Strauss’s own signature macabre that I adore.” — Jennifer Belle, author of HIGH MAINTENANCE and THE SEVEN YEAR BITCH

From the Publisher

This is the classic read-it-in-one-big-gulp book. Or spend several days at the beach with it; compelling from first page to last — edgy, moving, human.

Liz Smith

BASED UPON AVAILABILITY is like a beautifully-wrapped gift box, full of unexpected pleasures. Alix Strauss proves herself to be an astute and deeply feeling observer of human nature.

Dani Shapiro

Mesmerizing...the characters in this moving novel are achingly sympathetic, their plights eminently relatable.

Booklist

Colorful writing...Strauss takes on famed New York lodging the Four Seasons, filling the storied hostelry with colorful women characters who share a common human bond.

New York Post

Strauss has a knack for inserting the kinds of surprises that shock but also strengthen the impact of the novel.

More.com

This sharp and brilliant novel shows that truth cannot be seen from the outside. You’ll absorb every anecdote’s last detail as real human connection resurfaces and these women take steps to become the people they’ve always dreamed they’d be.

Elle

Strauss has a knack for inserting the kinds of surprises that shock but also strengthen the impact of the novel.

Baltimore Morning Sun

Imminently entertaining…an insightful and engrossing character study of eight women not so very different than you or I. Looking past their superficial differences, you will find yourself identifying, in at least some small measure, with each and every one of them—like it or not!

Bookclubcheerleader.com

Alix Strauss is one of the most enjoyable writers in this or any country. Based Upon Availability is fun, smart and beautiful.

Darin Strauss

It’s Eloise from the Plaza, now 32 and running the hotel, with a hint of the S&M of Mary Gaitskill and the elegant precision of Lorrie Moore—and the touch of Strauss’s own signature macabre that I adore.

Jennifer Belle

There’s a story behind every room at Manhattan’s famed Four Seasons Hotel, and in her engaging novel Alix Strauss weaves them together in a dark and complicated tapestry. From the seemingly put-together manager to the aging rock star, every character has a secret and nothing is what it seems.

Shari Goldhagen

Mesmerizing...the characters in this moving novel are achingly sympathetic, their plights eminently relatable.

Booklist

Colorful writing...Strauss takes on famed New York lodging the Four Seasons, filling the storied hostelry with colorful women characters who share a common human bond.

New York Post

Mesmerizing

Booklist (starred review)

From Strauss (stories: The Joy of Funerals, 2003, etc.), a novel concerning a Manhattan Four Seasons manager who witnesses the alarmingly bleak lives of women (herself included) confronting the loss of youth. Morgan, 32, is haunted by her sister Dale's death from leukemia when both were children. She alone in her family appears to still mourn Dale, and she can't get close to her mother, who cares only for conspicuous consumption and her clique of ladies who lunch. Morgan has seen her Uncle Marty, a prominent shrink, escorting female patients to rooms at the Midtown Four Seasons, where she's division manager. Morgan's inner emptiness-she's just broken up with her too-dull, too-safe boyfriend Bernard-prompts her to take brief vacations on the wild side while at work. There's the busboy she trysts with in the kitchen pantry. There are the hotel rooms she "inspects" at random, pilfering objects including an SM leather brace, which she finds oddly comforting to wear. Morgan encounters other women-guests, vendors, employees or clients of the Four Seasons-each of whom occupies her own section of the novel. Anne, a novice concierge, is obsessed with luck, charms and omens. Svelte, elegant Trish, adopted child of famous parents, struggles to distinguish herself, opening a gallery and hosting a weight-loss party for her BFF Olive, who, distressingly, is shedding Trish along with the extra pounds. Ellen, traumatized by two miscarriages, is baffled by the refusal of her husband and gynecologist to believe she's several months pregnant. Mississippi native Franny, despite a lucrative career and a nice apartment, envies her blissfully coupled and child-blessed neighbors. Aging rocker Louise checks into the Four Seasons to detox. Trouble is, without coke, booze and pills, the space inside Lou's head is as claustrophobic as her locked hotel room. Robin, a downtrodden younger sister, takes bizarre revenge on her manipulative sibling Vicki. Despite some unpolished prose, these New York stories, utterly wrenching with pessimistic undercurrents, will remind some readers of Parker-as in Dorothy, not Sarah Jessica.

Kirkus Reviews