First published by E. P. Dutton, 1982 

Elkin followed The Living End, a triptych of novellas which expanded his audience more than any other book, with his longest, most narratively complex novel. Crossing centuries and continents, Elkin spun narratives about patriarchs in the Mills family, who are all destined for mediocrity. George Mills employs a tapestry of perspectives and oral histories similar to William Faulkner, whose novels were the basis of Elkin’s dissertation, written over 20 years earlier. The book was widely praised by reviewers, and it earned Elkin his first National Book Critics Circle Award, but once again it wouldn’t be making an appearance on any best seller lists.