What Belongs to You

Garth Greenwell first came on my radar when he wrote an almost-convincing defense of Hanya Yanigahara's A Little Life. Now his own novel has come out, and I don't need anyone to convince me: it's fantastic. The story of a young American's—well, "affair" isn't the right word for a relationship whose terms, financial and otherwise, are always being negotiated—desire for a Bulgarian man he meets in a public bathroom in Sofia, What Belongs to You is written in thrillingly exact and observant language, equally knowing about human tenderness and cruelty. It's my first favorite book of the year, and we're only just getting started. —Tom
[review from January 2016]