Paradise Park

Synopsis | Back Story

Praise

“[The] narrator, that Sharon Spiegelman, has one of the most enchanting, idiosyncratic voices since Augie March.”
—Washington Post Book World

“In her arresting mix of innocence and worldliness, Sharon Spiegelman reminds me of another disaffected youth, Holden Caulfield.”
—The Boston Globe

“Goodman succeeds because she’s that rare thing—a writer whose keen observation and humor haven’t been blunted by her faith.”
—San Francisco Chronicle

“Goodman’s hippie heroine is so endearing, so exuberant, so earnest, so amusing, so confused, you gotta love her.”
—USA Today

“Like Kaaterskill Falls before it, Paradise Park turns out to be a literate, incisive examination of the nature of contemporary faith . . . in her heroine, Goodman has created a spiritual guide for the modern age.”
—Harper’s Bazaar

“[A] marvelous new novel . . . [Sharon Spieglman’s] voice, a pitch-perfect mix of irreverent vernacular punctuated by hyperbolic exhilaration, is a comic triumph. Readers will finish the novel feeling . . . sublime well-being and satisfaction.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Self-delusion has rarely been so hilariously and poignantly embodied as in hippy-dippy dharma bum Sharon Spiegelman.”
—The Wall Street Journal

“In the loving, sneaky, and immensely talented hands of novelist Allegra Goodman, Sharon tells her moving, hilarious story in such a compelling voice that she charms her way into your heart.”
—The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)

“This modern-day heroine’s journey tilts heavily toward the wild tales of Scheherazade . . . It’s clear that this ardent Jewish-American woman is a member of the family Goodman. And as such, she’s a worthwhile family member to know.”
—Entertainment Weekly

“Paradise Park never resorts to preachiness, thanks to Sharon’s ebullient personality. When at last she finds the best of all possible worlds, readers will feel much the way she does—relieved, satisfied, and wiser for having made the journey.”
—US Weekly

“As a narrator, Sharon proves sympathetic and compelling . . . [Goodman’s] writing is authoritative and original, carrying influences of everyone from Mona Simpson to Saul Bellow.”
—The Village Voice

“A bold step forward . . . Sharon is a wonderfully complex, utterly believable character . . . Brilliantly crafted and pitched perfectly.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Like Saul Bellow and Philip Roth before her, Goodman has achieved a breakthrough book.” 
—Time

“Clear, rain-washed prose . . . In Allegra Goodman's ebullient, bittersweet, plaintive song of Sharon, the heroine's true achievement is finding poetry in . . . becoming who she's been all along.” 
—New York Times Book Review

“With Sharon Speigelman, Goodman has created a Huck Finn for the modern age, drifting down the river of American spirituality.” 
—Christian Science Monitor