Living in crumbling Brooklyn apartments, holding down jobs as actors and writers and eschewing the middle-class sensibilities of their parents, graduates of the prestigious Oberlin College, Lil, Beth, Sadie, Emily, Dave and Tal believe they can have it all.
When the group come together to celebrate Lil's marriage, it feels as though anything is possible in late 1990s New York, an era defined by excess, where creative jobs are everywhere and youth is golden. But the reality of rent, marriage, children and family will test them all - from Beth, struggling to move on from her first love, Dave, a former piano prodigy who can't seem to commit to anything; to Emily, a talented actor trapped in a circle of endless auditions desperately waiting for her Broadway break, perpetually in the shadow of Tal, whose career has taken off, propelling him towards Los Angeles, Hollywood and fame; and to Sadie, too, the charismatic centre, coolly observing her friends' mistakes, but unable to stop making her own. For this fortunate age can't last forever, and the group must face adulthood, whether they are ready for it or not.
Sprawling and richly drawn, A Fortunate Age traces the lives of the group during some of the most defining years of modern America - from the decadence of the dot com boom through to the sobering events of September 11 and the trailing years that followed - this brilliant, ambitious debut novel perfectly captures the hopes, anxieties and dreams of a generation.
