“Nothing less than majestic, among the finest contemporary novels I’ve read.”
—Steve Yarbrough, Stay Gone Days
About Not Heaven But Paradise
Set in a carmen in the Albaicin district of Granada, Mewshaw’s novel features an ex-pat American, Paul Stewart, lives in his childhood home, which he’s turned into an artist’s retreat—one that is barely surviving in the wake of the world’s current path toward self-destruction.
When Simone Pierce, a celebrated yet controversial artist, arrives from the U.S. for her residency, Paul hopes she’ll attract other well- regarded artists. However, he’s not prepared for someone from the U.S. State Department to show up requesting Paul allow an Algerian asylum seeker with a fatwa against him, to move in while he finishes work on a highly confidential book. And now, Paul is convinced something’s not right. He can’t shake the suspicion this all has something to do with his father’s death years earlier. Still, Paul can’t afford to turn the down the money—any more than he can control his feelings toward Simone.
Praise for Not Heaven But Paradise
“Michael Mewshaw’s Not Heaven But Paradise is nothing less than majestic, among the finest contemporary novels I’ve read in the last couple of decades. Mewshaw’s sentences sing…The narrative keeps delivering surprises all the way to the final line. I love this novel.”
—Steve Yarbrough, Stay Gone Days
“I gobbled this novel right up with great pleasure . . . It’s gripping the masterly way Mewshaw invokes contemporary Spain, the politics, Islam, tourism, real estate. The tone is so ominous, all the while avoiding melodrama and bullfights.”
—Diane Johnson, Lorna Mott Comes Home
Meet the Author
Michael Mewshaw is the award-winning bestselling author of a dozen novels and as many nonfiction titles. In addition to books, Mewshaw has also written hundreds of articles, reviews, and literary profiles for publications including The New York Times, Washington Post, The Nation, Newsweek, Harpers and more.
