Fulfillment

A Novel

By: Lee Cole

Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews

From the acclaimed author of Groundskeeping comes a searing family drama set in Kentucky where the homecoming of two half-brothers—successful Joel with his restless wife Alice, and struggling Emmett—ignites a clash of ambitions and desires, exposing raw truths about class, privilege, and happiness in the American South.

Fulfillment tells the story of two half brothers—Joel, a successful academic and author, whose marriage is in deep trouble, and his younger sibling, Emmett, paralyzed by indecision and working in a shipping warehouse—who find themselves at their family home in Kentucky and upend each other’s lives in devastating ways.

Between them is Alice, Joel's wife, a wry, passionate young woman whose dream of a small farm feels unattainable, and whose longing for a more authentic life collides with Emmett's hunger for connection and desire to escape a sense of burgeoning failure. As the chemistry between them escalates, the family is plunged into a violent crucible, each character brought to the precipice of immutable catastrophe.

Incisive, poignant, gorgeously crafted, Lee Cole's haunting novel about class, privilege, brotherhood, and the American South asks whether people can change, and at what cost, and what it takes to build a life of fulfillment and meaning.

Critic reviews

"Ominous encounters, star-crossed lovers, rifts between red and blue America, flawless prose: Fulfillment expands on themes and technique laid down in Groundskeeping. . . . Is our nation too big to fail, or is it failing because we’re too big, a vastness corralled into social networks? This is the urgent question Cole poses, his brilliant book more than a tale of a small-town adultery and its consequences. . . . Don’t look now, but a colossal literary career is sneaking in under the radar." —The Washington Post

“Compulsively readable. . . . As well as illicit sex, the plot involves a drugs heist, crank calls and a loaded gun, adding a crackle of jeopardy to Cole’s gift for fizzy dialogue and killer comic timing as he gently takes the temperature of modern America. Strongly recommended.” —Daily Mail

“Cole has an astute ear for the verbal racket of modern life. . . . Fulfillment is engaging, thoughtful and bang up-to-date.” —The Times (London)

"A riveting tale about hope and desire." —The Economist

"Cole mixes the angst and insecurity of class and poverty to craft a Molotov cocktail he lobs with exacting precision." —Booklist (starred review)

"An evocative tale of ambition, lust, and sibling rivalry in western Kentucky. . . . [Cole] writes gorgeously descriptive sentences." —Publishers Weekly

"Cole perfectly captures a particular kind of charming yet frustrating character: a slow-to-launch, aspiring Southern writer who makes ill-considered decisions that throw his life into disarray. Clearly, this is Cole's wheelhouse." —Kirkus

Characters were interesting

Fulfillment is well paced, with interesting characters and a real sense of place. Well worth your lesson.

Fulfillment

I really enjoyed this book. I couldn’t stop listening to it. The characters were oddly sympathetic, and interestingly complex. The writing was excellent. It just worked. Thank you so much for the book.

Great sophomore novel from Cole

I enjoyed Cole’s debut Groundskeeping and I thought Fulfillment was even better. Great characterizations and tension within the family dynamic — for fans of Ann Patchett, Lily King, and Franzen