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Pushing Closer
Inspired by novels like Joan Didion's Play It As It Lays, Pushing Closer is a candid portrayal of one woman's journey to find herself by leaving everything behind.
When an unexpected layoff gives Petra Dominick a chance to start anew, she takes it. She doesn't just leave her job, she also leaves her marriage, her home, and the state.
Petra is beautiful, with an icy demeanor and a sensitivity that requires her to block out most of the world, but when she finds herself renting a room from the eccentric Tuesday Balfour, instead of shying away, she moves closer.
In an effort to impress Tuesday, Petra slowly builds a life for herself, and in doing so yearns for more.
When Tuesday hosts a dinner party and an intriguing woman catches Petra's attention, the possibility of romance arises and an affair ensues.
With the atmosphere of a Sofia Coppola movie and laced with the wit of a Philip Roth novel, Reagan gently lets us fall in love with each of his imperfect characters.
Part sapphic romance, part coming of middle-age tale, Pushing Closer forgoes the demands of relentless plot in order to feel like a walk down a suburban street on a cool autumn night.
Carefully told and leisurely paced, Reagan's latest novel is a beautiful narrative that reminds us if you want it bad enough, anyone could be someone you could love.
Readers who enjoyed Ottessa Moshfegh’s My Year of Rest and Relaxation and Jay McInerney’s Calloway Trilogy will find comfort within the pages of Pushing Closer.
When an unexpected layoff gives Petra Dominick a chance to start anew, she takes it. She doesn't just leave her job, she also leaves her marriage, her home, and the state.
Petra is beautiful, with an icy demeanor and a sensitivity that requires her to block out most of the world, but when she finds herself renting a room from the eccentric Tuesday Balfour, instead of shying away, she moves closer.
In an effort to impress Tuesday, Petra slowly builds a life for herself, and in doing so yearns for more.
When Tuesday hosts a dinner party and an intriguing woman catches Petra's attention, the possibility of romance arises and an affair ensues.
With the atmosphere of a Sofia Coppola movie and laced with the wit of a Philip Roth novel, Reagan gently lets us fall in love with each of his imperfect characters.
Part sapphic romance, part coming of middle-age tale, Pushing Closer forgoes the demands of relentless plot in order to feel like a walk down a suburban street on a cool autumn night.
Carefully told and leisurely paced, Reagan's latest novel is a beautiful narrative that reminds us if you want it bad enough, anyone could be someone you could love.
Readers who enjoyed Ottessa Moshfegh’s My Year of Rest and Relaxation and Jay McInerney’s Calloway Trilogy will find comfort within the pages of Pushing Closer.
427 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 16, 2023
About the author
T/James Reagan
15 books16 followersT/James Reagan is a post-Empire novelist and playwright from New Jersey.
His debut novel, "Famous For Nothing," is a satire of celebrity blogs.
His second novel, "Empire Waste," is an exploration of New York's fashion industry.
His third novel, "Leeds House," is a cabin in the woods novel for the millennial generation.
His fourth novel, "lovetrust" was written while Reagan was in college, and has now been released. It provides a post-Empire view of life and love in college.
The story of "lovetrust" continues in Reagan's fifth novel, "beach house burning" which takes place 15 years after the first novel was written.
After deleting his popular tumblr, HBGWHEM, Reagan chose to adapt the blog into a novel, Hot Blonde Girls With Heavy Eye Makeup, which was released on September 1st 2019.
His seventh novel, Neon Blacktop, is inspired by the films of Richard Kelly and Gregg Araki, and deals with sweaty summer in a motel where strange communications are being received by the guests.
His eighth novel, Pushing Closer, is a quiet and caring novel about unexpectedly finding love after starting over. If you're tired of Reagan's genre detours, Pushing Closer is a return to his grounded storytelling about normal (but strange) everyday people.
His most recent novel is Polanski by way of MTV's The Hills, and it's titled "Pushing Closer." It's a satire of the streaming era of TV, and deals with our questions about what is real when everything is moving so fast.
Reagan has also adapted August Strindberg's Miss Julie, transposing the play from a Swedish estate to a cable newsroom office.
On July 4, 2018, Reagan released a novelization of Richard Kelly's 2006 film, "Southland Tales" which can be downloaded for free, here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BBai...
T/James Reagan's work has been mentioned by NYMag, Fashionista, and Wonderland Magazine.
Contact T/James Reagan at tjamesreagan@yahoo.com
His debut novel, "Famous For Nothing," is a satire of celebrity blogs.
His second novel, "Empire Waste," is an exploration of New York's fashion industry.
His third novel, "Leeds House," is a cabin in the woods novel for the millennial generation.
His fourth novel, "lovetrust" was written while Reagan was in college, and has now been released. It provides a post-Empire view of life and love in college.
The story of "lovetrust" continues in Reagan's fifth novel, "beach house burning" which takes place 15 years after the first novel was written.
After deleting his popular tumblr, HBGWHEM, Reagan chose to adapt the blog into a novel, Hot Blonde Girls With Heavy Eye Makeup, which was released on September 1st 2019.
His seventh novel, Neon Blacktop, is inspired by the films of Richard Kelly and Gregg Araki, and deals with sweaty summer in a motel where strange communications are being received by the guests.
His eighth novel, Pushing Closer, is a quiet and caring novel about unexpectedly finding love after starting over. If you're tired of Reagan's genre detours, Pushing Closer is a return to his grounded storytelling about normal (but strange) everyday people.
His most recent novel is Polanski by way of MTV's The Hills, and it's titled "Pushing Closer." It's a satire of the streaming era of TV, and deals with our questions about what is real when everything is moving so fast.
Reagan has also adapted August Strindberg's Miss Julie, transposing the play from a Swedish estate to a cable newsroom office.
On July 4, 2018, Reagan released a novelization of Richard Kelly's 2006 film, "Southland Tales" which can be downloaded for free, here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BBai...
T/James Reagan's work has been mentioned by NYMag, Fashionista, and Wonderland Magazine.
Contact T/James Reagan at tjamesreagan@yahoo.com
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