Netherland

In Joseph O’Neill’s haunting but uneven post-9/11 elegy, Hans, a Dutch banker with an aristocratic British wife, a toddler, and a pricey Tribeca apartment, is suddenly displaced by the events of that dark day. When his wife and son abruptly return to England, he finds an odd communion with the eccentric residents of his temporary home, the famously ramshackle Chelsea Hotel, as well as a group of expat cricket players. Though Netherland‘s lengthy digressions into the sport may test some readers’ patience — and an auxiliary murder mystery is largely unresolved — O’Neill’s elegant prose makes for a striking, if challenging, read. B