Ben Lerner is no stranger to novels about personal growth, having won critical acclaim for his first two, Leaving Atocha Station and 10:04. But his latest work, The Topeka School, is his most thought-provoking portrait of development yet (perhaps because it’s set in his hometown, the titular Topeka). The novel follows teenager Adam Gordon as he navigates life in the 90s, and then shifts both perspective and time period, throwing characters and readers alike into our current world of political unrest. At CHF, Lerner will be joined by Srikanth Reddy, Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Chicago, to discuss the novel's insights into how the angst and outrage of the 90s mirrors today’s climate of anger and polarization.

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