Oprah Winfrey has chosen Wellness by Nathan Hill (Knopf) as her 102nd Oprah's Book Club pick. "It is a modern take on love, marriage, and society's obsession on improving almost every aspect of our lives," Winfrey said, adding: "You're about to be taken for an incredible ride."
Winfrey originally broke the news to the author by arranging with Knopf "to pop up during a Zoom meeting and tell Hill that she had chosen his novel Wellness, a sweeping, 600-page narrative about an embattled married couple in Chicago," the Associated Press reported. In the video, "Hill is chatting with his publicist at Knopf about anticipation and promotion for Wellness, which comes out this week. A new box suddenly appears and there is Winfrey, holding Hill's novel in front of her. 'I have an idea, why not choose it for Oprah's book club?' she says."
"You're kidding," Hill responds.
"What. A. Book!" Winfrey replies. "You are an incredible writer for our times, what you are able to do with language, with your words. It's so powerful, so moving."
Hill said later: "Having Oprah Winfrey crash a Zoom meeting to tell me she'd picked my novel for her book club will go down as the greatest--and most surreal--shock of my life. Thank you to Oprah for this amazing honor, and for championing authors for so many years. Her book club has been such a gift to readers, and includes some of my own literary idols. To be in such company is both humbling and heart-swelling."