Get Discount 10% Off
Subscribe to our newsletters now and stay up-to-date with new arrivals, updates and deals.
MILLIONS OF TITLES TO CHOOSE FROM
Currency
The Responsible Party
A rollicking, "unsinkable," (Sam Lipsyte) and hilarious debut novel about a family of unforgettable women obsessed with...
- $34.78 USD
- $34.78 USD
- Unit price
- per
Please hurry! Only 965 left in stock
Couldn't load pickup availability
A rollicking, "unsinkable," (Sam Lipsyte) and hilarious debut novel about a family of unforgettable women obsessed with securing their legacy, for fans of Geek Love
Claire grew up with the legend of the Unsinkable Mounsey Women. Her great-great-grandmother Fanny made headlines in 1915 for washing ashore in England nearly a year after her ship sank. Fanny's daughter Sarah went to collect her mother on the equally ill-fated Lusitania--whose sinking she, too, survived. Their improbable endurance led to regional stardom on the Midwestern vaudeville circuit. But Claire never knew the full story--until now. Listless, jobless, and recently canceled for extolling skin-care advice online that sent a reader to the hospital, Claire is surprised when a knock at the door turns out to be the police, looking for answers about a murder from the 1970s they suspect her mother, Kath, may know something about. As the cops zero in, Claire demands answers from her mother. Kath's comically long response, which blossoms into the story of the Mounseys and their descendants writ large, moves from a Liverpudlian poorhouse at the onset of World War I to a Lake Michigan lighthouse in 1971 (when sex was freer and McDonald's fried their potatoes with beef tallow) to present-day Chicagoland; along the way, it offers Claire a richer understanding of what she inherited from the complicated, resilient women she descends from. Replete with inappropriately old boyfriends, dubious medical professionals, and more than a few boats, The Responsible Party is the story of several women, in several different timelines, trying to stay afloat.Author: Claire Carusillo
Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
Published: 08/11/2026
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.19lbs
Size: 9.45h x 6.45w x 1.15d
ISBN: 9781250408631
Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 06/15/2026
Booklist 07/01/2026
About the Author
Claire Carusillo is a writer from Illinois. She now lives in Midway, Utah, where co-owns Storyboard, a bookstore, skate shop, and coffee bar. She has an MFA in fiction from Columbia University, where she was a teaching fellow. Her writing has appeared all over the internet, including in Gawker, New York, Elle, and her newsletter, That Wet Look.
Returns Policy
You may return most new, unopened items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. We'll also pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.).
You should expect to receive your refund within four weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).
If you need to return an item, simply login to your account, view the order using the "Complete Orders" link under the My Account menu and click the Return Item(s) button. We'll notify you via e-mail of your refund once we've received and processed the returned item.
Shipping
We can ship to virtually any address in the world. Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations.
When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Depending on the shipping provider you choose, shipping date estimates may appear on the shipping quotes page.
Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound.
- Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.