Wild River Books is set to publish The Megabuilders of Queenston Park by Edmund Keeley on April 22, Earth Day.
The Megabuilders of Queenston Park is set in Princeton and satirizes modern suburban life.
In the novel, ambitious megabuilders–real-estate developers who specialize in erecting large residences on small lots–roam the neighborhoods in search of modest postwar homes to tear down and replace with huge, often modular, constructions. When a smooth-talking megabuilder tries to convince homeowner Cassie Mandeville to sign on the dotted line and sell her beloved home and property, she and her husband Nick decide to take action. They find themselves thrust into a battle with a father-and-son construction company that plans to erect an overgrown, high-end eyesore next door. As the Mandevilles try to save their neighborhood, they run headlong into an insensitive and possibly corrupt political system at the local level.
The book raises environmental questions that plague many families and communities including: What is the true value of real estate? How do we measure the stability, affection and familial loyalty our homes nurture and shelter? How do we protect our neighborhoods from large-scale development, construction pollution and sewage run-off?
Keeley lives in Princeton and is the author of eight novels, fifteen volumes of poetry and fiction in translation and ten volumes of non-fiction.
The Megabuilders of Queenston Park is based on an experience that Keeley after his neighbor’s house was sold to a developer, torn down, and replaced by a McMansion four times its size.
