An Amazon Best Book of the Month and #1 Indie Best-Seller
In the wake of an affair that has cost him his marriage and career, Marcus is a lost man. Desperate for reprieve from his loneliness and regret, he accepts an invitation to go to the outskirts of North Carolina and visit Edgar, an old high school classmate burdened with mysterious troubles of his own.
In Edgar’s beautiful, empty home, their separate sorrows draw Marcus into a series of unnerving situations, culminating in a proposed deer hunt. As the hunt draws closer, Marcus must confront the violent prospect with a candor and recognition that have, until now, evaded him.
“Gianopoulos’ wisdom and humanity light up this darkly comic, bittersweet journey. Here is a gifted writer in full control of his craft—and impact. “A Familiar Beast” is a perfectly-executed shot through the heart.”
“Superb.... With elegant prose, unforgettable scenes and Philip Roth-like psychological insights, Panio Gianopoulos’s debut novella marks the arrival of a bright and gifted writer.”
“Elegant, erudite and witty, this extremely well-observed and surprisingly suspenseful story offers more insights into love and human relationships than most authors manage in works three times as long.”
““A Familiar Beast” is a swan song to love and lovers, and with its devastating wit and tender bitterness it kills the easy, common hope for meaning, significance, and, ultimately, redemption.”
““A Familiar Beast” is hypnotic and chillingly precise. It is never ostentatious; instead, it builds slowly, observation by observation, gradually creating an atmosphere of paranoia so subtle that we are ensnared without question.”
“[Gianopoulos’s] prose is economical, eloquently phrased, and rich in detail... astonishingly rewarding.”