American Pop

Wright (Play Pretty Blues) follows three generations of a wealthy family riddled with secrets in his sweeping yet intimate historical novel. Houghton Forster launches a commercial empire in early 20th-century Mississippi with his soft drink, PanCola. Its success puts immense pressure on the family to live up to its station. Houghton’s oldest son, Montgomery, returns from WWI to pursue a political career but harbors emotional wounds over the death of his male lover. The second son, Harold, outlives the clan and runs a ramshackle museum after the family’s fortune fails. The youngest are fraternal twins: thoughtlessly cruel Lance, and Ramsey, who pursues an affair in Paris with singer Josephine Baker after her disappointing marriage to a Hollywood executive. The final generation includes Montgomery’s ambitious daughter Imogene, who uses a wheelchair due to polio and attempts to salvage the company after her brother’s poor business choices. Wright’s nonchronological zipping between characters creates a complex, engaging mosaic leavened with wry humor. Real and imagined scholarly citations provide context, and a subplot about the soda’s secret ingredient offers intrigue. This smart and tragic exploration of American history will make a splash among fans of family sagas. Agent: Eve Attermann, WME Entertainment. (Feb.)