The Futures

By: Anna Pitoniak

Narrated by: Sarah Mollo-Christensen, Michael Crouch

In this dazzling debut novel about love and betrayal, a young couple moves to New York City in search of success - only to learn that the lives they dream of may come with dangerous strings attached.

Julia and Evan fall in love as undergraduates at Yale. For Evan, a scholarship student from a rural Canadian town, Yale is a whole new world, and Julia - blond, beautiful, and rich - fits perfectly into the future he's envisioned for himself. After graduation, and on the eve of the great financial meltdown of 2008, they move together to New York City, where Evan lands a job at a hedge fund. But Julia, whose privileged upbringing grants her an easy but wholly unsatisfying job with a nonprofit, feels increasingly shut out of Evan's secretive world.

With the market crashing and banks failing, Evan becomes involved in a high-stakes deal at work - a deal that, despite the assurances of his Machiavellian boss, begins to seem more than slightly suspicious. Meanwhile, Julia reconnects with someone from her past who offers a glimpse of a different kind of live. As the economy craters, and as Evan and Julia spin into their separate orbits, they each find that they are capable of much more - good and bad - than they'd ever imagined.

Rich in suspense and insight, Anna Pitoniak's gripping debut reveals the fragile yet enduring nature of our connections: to one another and to ourselves. The Futures is a glittering story of a couple coming of age, and a searing portrait of what it's like to be young and full of hope in New York City, a place that so often seems determined to break us down - but ultimately may be the very thing that saves us.

©2017 Anna Pitoniak (P)2017 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

" The Futures takes place on the cusp of the 2008 market crash, and so perfectly encapsulates that time of life when everything was just beginning, when you had no idea who you were or where you were going." ( PopSugar)

"Anna Pitoniak perfectly captures the confusion and heartbreak of those post-college years, when even the strongest among us falter in the face of our own desires. The Futures reminded me of Brightness Falls, Jay McInerney's great novel of New York, for Pitoniak, like McInerney, possesses an instinctual understanding of the mechanisms that make the city run and a knack for embracing her characters' thornier sides. Utterly enjoyable." (Joanna Rakoff, author of My Salinger Year)

"Pitoniak expertly captures both the excitement and the oppressive darkness of being young and at sea in New York City, the unsettingly thin line between freedom and free fall....[The novel is] deeply empathetic - and always engaging. A bittersweet coming-of-age drama and a portrait of an era." ( Kirkus Reviews)

Fluff book

Really decent listen for those who are just out of college or looking to see light on what happens to post-grads. I really enjoyed the two authors and two perspectives of situations. However, I was very interested in more happening towards the end. It was a let down after the climax.

Could been good but...

The story is OK but the female narrator, Sarah Mollo-Christensen, read the entire book in a breathy, almost whisper - making the female character seem like a needy air head. This is a book that would be better read than listened to!

Struggling toward adulthood

I really liked this finely written story highlighting the challenges of life after college. Although I'm WAY older than Julia and Evan ( the two narrators) I could relate to their respective struggles to find a place and a career in the "adult" world. I experiences some of their same insecurity and doubt. Both of the narrators were good, but especially Sarah Molokai-Christiansen.

Good Story - Hard to listen

I like the story a lot but couldn't stand the breathy way the performer that played Julia interpreted the character. Irritating. It made an unlikeable character detestable.

Ruined by narrators

I read this book on paper and really enjoyed it. Anna Pitoniak is a good author. However, when I listened to it on audio, I couldn’t even focus on the story because the narrators are SO BAD. The female narrator is breathy and whiny and adds weird upticks at the ends of sentences. Male narrator sounds like what I’d imagine a brick wall would sound like if it could talk. No emotion or inflection. Really disappointing.

Enjoyable

I really liked the book overall- I wasn't super excited about the ending, though-- but overall enjoyable.

Millennial Must Read for the Quarter Life Crisis

Would you listen to The Futures again? Why?

This piece was beautifully written tale of coming of adulthood in the 21st century- romance, intrigue and heartfelt honesty.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Futures?

I believe it accurately portrays those acquired post college years that leave many young people today to feel like they are floundering. It truly encompasses that painfully isolating feeling in your 20's/30's that everyone is moving forward and you are stagnant.

Disappointing

Thought I would enjoy and relate to this book, but struggled to like the main characters, especially Julia. Difficult to finish.

Good storyline / bad readers

The two narrators were terrible - breathy, annoying and not believable. Would've enjoyed it so much more if the voices were different.

Annoying readers

What's with the nervous little gasp at the end of every other sentence? Such insecure characters without any spine! I finally quit listening. .