THE NIX

NATHAN HILL

The Nix is one of the best books I have had the privilege to read in the last few years. I had heard great news about it and was not surprised. It lived up to its notice in spades. Nathan Hill is one helluva writer.

A Nix is a ghost, something that follows us until we die. The protagonist in this involving and amusing story is an emotionally stilted, frustrated, lonely, and bright English professor at a small university. His passion is video games and lamentation while dealing with today’s byzantine academic rules and procedures that plague anybody in academia, including this reviewer. When he was a small child, his mother and father deserted him. Twenty-some years later, he has an opportunity to reunite with her. His mother has become infamous for an event that I will not mention.

The Nix is a beautiful story that reminds us of what families are and what we wish they could be. Considering that Halloween is here, The Nix is one ghost that will haunt you long after you have finished this remarkable novel.