Chris Bachelder Books in Order

Young Curtis Norman wins tickets to a nationally obsessed-over contest between a bear and a shark in Las Vegas. His family's journey becomes a satire of media spectacle as relentless commentary, advertising, and pointless debate overwhelm the event itself.

Upton Sinclair is repeatedly resurrected by hopeful leftists and assassinated by opponents seeking fame or defending capitalism. Stories, songs, letters, and mock documents follow his stubborn campaigning, exploring political idealism, American violence, and the awkward role of art in social change.

University teacher Abbott spends his summer caring for a toddler while awaiting another child's birth. Household mishaps and daily chores feed his anxious reflections on marriage, parenting, and existence, revealing the contradictory pleasures and frustrations of ordinary family life.

Twenty-two men reunite each autumn to reenact the football play that broke Joe Theismann's leg. Over a weekend of preparations, their rituals expose private anxieties, marital disappointments, friendships, and the uncertainties of middle age.

During the pandemic, a woman becomes absorbed in the life of Herman Melville, tracing his writing, friendships, and marriage. Her investigations expose the costs of artistic ambition and prompt uncomfortable comparisons with her own marriage and unfinished aspirations.