{"product_id":"the-responsible-party-9781250408631","title":"The Responsible Party","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA rollicking, \"unsinkable,\" (Sam Lipsyte) and hilarious debut novel about a family of \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eunforgettable women obsessed with securing their legacy, for fans of \u003ci\u003eGeek Love\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eClaire grew up with the legend of the Unsinkable Mounsey Women. Her great-great-grandmother Fanny made headlines in 1915 for washing ashore in England nearly a year after her ship sank. Fanny's daughter Sarah went to collect her mother on the equally ill-fated \u003ci\u003eLusitania\u003c\/i\u003e--whose sinking she, too, survived. Their improbable endurance led to regional stardom on the Midwestern vaudeville circuit. But Claire never knew the full story--until now. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eListless, jobless, and recently canceled for extolling skin-care advice online that sent a reader to the hospital, Claire is surprised when a knock at the door turns out to be the police, looking for answers about a murder from the 1970s they suspect her mother, Kath, may know something about. As the cops zero in, Claire demands answers from her mother. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eKath's comically long response, which blossoms into the story of the Mounseys and their descendants writ large, moves from a Liverpudlian poorhouse at the onset of World War I to a Lake Michigan lighthouse in 1971 (when sex was freer and McDonald's fried their potatoes with beef tallow) to present-day Chicagoland; along the way, it offers Claire a richer understanding of what she inherited from the complicated, resilient women she descends from. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eReplete with inappropriately old boyfriends, dubious medical professionals, and more than a few boats, \u003ci\u003eThe Responsible Party\u003c\/i\u003e is the story of several women, in several different timelines, trying to stay afloat.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Claire Carusillo\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Henry Holt \u0026amp; Company\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/11\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 336\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.19lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.45h x 6.45w x 1.15d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781250408631","brand":"Henry Holt \u0026 Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47907144499337,"sku":"9781250408631","price":28.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0636\/9240\/6921\/files\/img_0db94a0d-3822-4b72-aed6-81517b22c87c.jpg?v=1785884508","url":"https:\/\/sonsanddaughtersbooks.com\/products\/the-responsible-party-9781250408631","provider":"Sons and Daughters Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}