Description
Waxwings is a thoughtful and layered contemporary literary novel that follows two immigrants chasing very different versions of the American Dream at the turn of the millennium. Tom Janeway, a Hungarian-born British academic, believes he has finally found fulfilment in a settled life with his wife and young son, while Chick, newly smuggled into the United States from China, is convinced America will offer the prosperity and opportunity he could never find at home.
As the dot-com era peaks, the world around them shifts — markets surge, protests erupt, and paranoia grows. When a child goes missing, Tom finds himself unjustly accused and watching his carefully built life unravel, while Chick’s new business thrives even as he remains rootless and vulnerable. Through their intersecting stories, Waxwings explores ambition, identity, belonging, and the illusions at the heart of the modern American promise.
This sharp, human, and socially observant novel is ideal for readers who enjoy literary fiction that examines society, migration, and the fragile distance between success and collapse.
