Dana Spiotta has previously published Lightning Field (2001), a remarkable book of the year according to The New York Times, which celebrated her "unusual talent" to capture the absurdity and sadness of contemporary life. His second novel, Eat the Document (2006), was a finalist for the American National Book Award. Kakutani, the flagship firm of international criticism, has compared it with Joan Didion for its "intensity in staccato" and with DeLillo's first for language and historical resonance, following it closely and praisefully until this most recent book.