Lovers of complicated marriage and family stories, this one’s for you. Jack and Elizabeth fell in love during college, part of 1990s Chicago’s thriving art scene. Twenty years later, they’re far from the idealistic dreamers they used to be. Jack and Elizabeth are looking to buy their first home in an expensive part of the city in the face of disappointing careers and the difficulties of parenting. Hill explores modern marriage in the age of diet culture, Facebook, therapy, and cults and the result is both moving and humorous.

I finally read Hill's debut after reading and enjoying his sophomore novel Wellness. The Nix is similarly long (at 640 pages) and sweeping in scope, spanning decades and unfurling the life stories of several generations of one midwest family. The story begins in 2011, when Samuel Andresen-Anderson suddenly finds himself embroiled in professional scandal, and almost simultaneously discovers his long-absent mother, who left the family when he was a child, is headline news for throwing rocks at a presidential candidate. We go on to examine the long road that led to her decision to leave the family, her childhood, even the family's roots back in Norway, where the myth of the Nix—a spirit that follows you for life—originated. I'm glad I finally read this but this blend of family saga and satire didn't work as well for me here as it did in Wellness. Heads up for multiple content warnings that are not evident from the publisher's description.