“Beautifully and honestly wrought, White Plains by David Hicks is a stunning portrayal of one man’s journey to redemption and transformation. Woven through many voices, and tragedies both personal and global, this is ultimately a story of kindness and forgiveness despite the misfirings of our ever-yearning human hearts. A gorgeous and unforgettable debut.”
“White Plains follows the trajectory of a man’s life, from the giddiness of youth with all its promise to the midlife realization of a life not fully lived, but, thankfully, the book does not end there: it shows us how a life can be rebuilt. This book is every single thing I want when I read: compassionate, hopeful, and beautifully written. David Hicks is a first-rate storyteller.”
“What happens when a man risks everything in search of a real home and big love? David Hicks shares the answer in White Plains, a thrilling and thoughtful take on what it means to live life to the fullest.”
“In David Hicks’s captivating debut, an English professor realizes he can no longer stand to live a life of quiet desperation. Comic and tender by turns, White Plains is a big-hearted novel about awakening—and reawakening—to love.”
“…a book that reads like late night messages sent from a friend. This is an honest look at a man moving from punishing bad faith toward something he finally hopes is good.”
“In his moving first novel, David Hicks gives us a front-row seat as we watch a good man on a journey to becoming a better man. Through these compelling and masterful linked stories, we commiserate with and cheer for Flynn Hawkins as he moves across the country, away from and back to the person he longs to be.”
Stephanie G’Schwind, Editor, Colorado Review“Flynn’s half-lived life comes of age post-marriage, in the time of tender fatherhood. He’s not just the flawed but adored professor living inside an English teacher’s dream of a book. He’s an American man growing up, finally, right when this country needs him the most.”
Rebecca Snow, author of Glassmusic: A Novel“In this intensely psychological story, David Hicks gives us a panoramic understanding of his protagonist, Flynn, as he investigates the human condition. How can we live close to the bone? With characterization reminiscent of Richard Powers and John Williams, White Plains is as intriguing as it is beautiful.”
Erika Krouse, author of Contenders“David Hicks has written a novel with sentences that dance and sing on the page, as we follow Flynn Hawkins, our protagonist, in his quest for redemption from the debilitating effects of divorce, abandoned children, and consuming guilt. Introspection is key here (where so few tread), and there are no tricks in this writing, only honesty.”
Allen Learst, author of Dancing at the Gold Monkey“White Plains is wise, sincere, intimate; Flynn’s self-reflection refreshing, if flawed. A novel comprised of a patchwork of perspectives, each its own swelling wave, so full and beautifully realized, show us Flynn as father, as friend, as professor, as son, brother, lover. As human. A man sometimes silent but never resigned, never disengaged. This book is a blueprint for a life lived, seized. A book that guts, but holds you fast with exquisite sentences and offers, yet, a measure of hope.”
Angela Palm, author of Riverine “For the single man, in this case dear Flynn in White Plains, it can be a rocky road to climb toward grace; and David Hicks shows us every glorious bump on the way I found myself groaning at each of Flynn’s stumbles, but always hoping for him (especially as he assembles himself as a parent) in this glowing set of stories, a book that reads like late night messages sent from a friend. This is an honest look at a man moving from punishing bad faith toward something he finally hopes is good.”
Ron Carlson, author of The SignalOn first glance, David Hicks’ witty and melancholy White Plains is a novel of the academic life, in the tradition of Lodge, Amis and McCarthy, and it deserves a place in that most excellent tradition. But White Plains exceeds this subgenre and rewards us with dynamic shifts in point of view that reveal an unsparing and original look at aging through a literary life and events that seem to have a mind of their own. Hicks writes spot on spots of time covering thirty years: St. Marks, Shea Stadium, Creede, Colorado. . . . momentary stays against confusion and concentric circles of diminishing expectations. With characteristic and devastating restraint, we’re asked, “How many chances does a man get [does anyone get] to set his life straight.” The answer: read this extraordinary novel.”
David Lazar, author of I'll Be Your Mirror: Essays and Aphorisms“Hicks … skillfully creates a dynamic and … likable protagonist by using multiple narrative perspectives to extend and deepen the reader’s perception of Flynn as a friend, companion, father, and human being.”
Booklist