Ben Markovits was born in Texas and grew up there and in London and Berlin. He studied at Yale University and the University of Oxford. After graduating, he became a professional basketball player in Landshut, Germany (where he played against a young Dirk Nowitzki). His 11 previous novels include FATHERS AND DAUGHTERS, YOU DON'T HAVE TO LIVE LIKE THIS and THE SIDEKICK. He has published essays, stories, poetry and reviews in The Guardian, Granta, The Paris Review and The New York Times, among others. In 2013, Granta selected him as one of their Best of Young British Novelists, and in 2015, he won the Eccles British Library Writer in Residence Award and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. He lives in London and teaches creative writing at Royal Holloway, University of London.

Books by Ben Markovits

The Rest of Our Lives

by Ben Markovits - Fiction

When Tom Layward’s wife had an affair 12 years ago, he resolved to leave her as soon as his youngest child left the nest. Now, while driving his college-bound daughter to Pittsburgh, he remembers his promise to himself. He is also on the run from his own health issues and a forced leave from work. So, rather than returning to his wife in Westchester, Tom keeps driving west, with the vague plan of visiting people from his past --- an old college friend, his ex-girlfriend, his brother, his son --- en route, maybe, to California. He’s moving towards a future he hasn’t even envisioned yet while he considers his past and the choices he’s made that have brought him to this particular present.