Willy Vlautin in Conversation With Chelsea Cain

Award-winning author Willy Vlautin (The Motel Life, Lean on Pete) explores the impact of trickle-down greed and opportunism of gentrification on ordinary lives in his scorching new novel that captures the plight of a young woman pushed to the edge as she fights to secure a stable future for herself and her family. Barely 30, Lynette is exhausted. Saddled with bad credit and juggling multiple jobs, some illegally, she’s been diligently working to buy the house she lives in with her mother and developmentally disabled brother, Kenny. Portland’s housing prices have nearly quadrupled in 15 years, and the owner is giving them a good deal. Lynette knows it’s their last best chance to own their own home — and obtain the security they’ve never had. While she has enough for the down payment, she needs her mother to cover the rest of the asking price. But a week before they’re set to sign the loan papers, her mother gets cold feet and reneges on her promise, pushing Lynette to her limits to find the money they need. Set over two days and two nights, The Night Always Comes (Harper) follows Lynette’s frantic search — an odyssey of hope and anguish that will bring her face to face with greedy rich men and ambitious hustlers, those benefiting and those left behind by a city in the throes of a transformative boom. A heart-wrenching portrait of a woman hungry for security and a home in a rapidly changing city, The Night Always Comes raises the difficult questions we are often too afraid to ask ourselves: What is the price of gentrification, and how far are we really prepared to go to achieve the American Dream? Is the American Dream even attainable for those living at the edges? Or for too many of us, is it only a hollow promise? Vlautin will be joined in conversation by Chelsea Cain, author of Heartsick and One Kick.

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