Foreclosure Gothic
Synopsis
“This complex and daring work embodies a country constantly reimagining itself. By turns lyrical, curiously suspenseful, and fresh, this novel is one I will return to time and again for its beautiful prose.” — Zain Khalid, author of ‘Brother Alive’
“Harris Lahti’s vision is one of grim humor and gristly poetry, but it always leaves room for the wonderful terror of promise held in chance encounters. A remarkable debut.” — Tracy O’Neill, author of ‘Women of Interest’
“Foreclosure Gothic makes me excited about the future of literary fiction. It is rare for a debut to be simultaneously formally innovative and so clasically minded. Lahti writes like de Kooning paints. This is a real, proper novel. I consider Harris Lahti to be the competition.” — Gabriel Smith, author of ‘Brat’
“Harris Lahti is one of the most exciting stylists working today. File his work next to Amy Hempel, Raymond Carver, Barry Hannah.” — Bud Smith, author of ‘Teenager’
“Harris Lahti is one of the best younger writers I see coming.” — Lynne Tillman, author of ‘Mothercare’
“Astra House rarely misses and this looks right up my alley. If you could judge a book by its cover, this one is ready to be an all-timer.” — Adam Vitcavage, Debutiful
“Lyrical and eerie… the prose is subtly alluring, such as the author’s description of nature as ‘a witch’s brew of mistrust’. This sly and creepy drama is worth a look.” — Publishers Weekly
“Harris Lahti’s debut, Foreclosure Gothic, is a goth song in a novel form. It is full of murk, omens, melodrama, the lushness of carnality, and the fearsomeness of love’s darker impulses… Lahti is a master of the portent.” — Melissa Holbrook Pierson, Brooklyn Rail
A multi-generational and deeply autobiographical gothic tale of Hollywood dreams and upstate New York reality that feels like Andre Dubus III meets Chantal V. Johnson.
Foreclosure Gothic reimagines the American Gothic against the backdrop of today’s Hudson Valley. The story tells of ex-Hollywood actor Vic Greener as he falls in love with the elusive Heather Roswell and the couple, following in the footsteps of Vic’s father, resolves to make a life restoring one foreclosed home after another. Then comes the uncanny, destabilizing arrival of new tenants in their duplex, and the Greener’s shocking discovery upon their departure.
With evocative and unsettling black and white photos throughout, this debut novel is at once a skewed portrait of three generations of Greener men, an intimate look at both childhood and parenthood and an examination of the friction between chasing one’s dream and working to make money.
Marketing Information
- On Debutiful‘s ‘Most Anticipated Debuts of 2025‘ list!
- On Jump Scares‘ ‘2025’s New Horror Books‘ list!
- On the Our Culture list of the most-anticipated books of summer, published May 30, 2025
- Author wrote a new story for Flaunt
- Author wrote a new short story for Soft Union, titled “The Actor Prepares“
- Interviewed by Calvin Cummings for Soft Union
- Interviewed by Sam Franzini for Our Culture
- Featured on the Literary Hub list of books on sale today
- Featured in the Maris Review
- Literary Hub ran an excerpt
- Astra House celebrated the release in their newsletter