The Death and Life of August Sweeney

A novel about fame, food, and forensics unlike anything you've read before.

“Like an excellent meal, the memory of Ashworth’s debut novel will linger after it’s finished. It deserves to be savored.”

—Washington Post Book World

In August Sweeney, Samuel Ashworth takes us on a journey through the hard living of a chef, which is both a joy and a punishment. I loved it."

—Tom Colicchio, Chef and Restauranteur

“Inventive and adventurous…Ashworth’s novel is a result of immense craft and rigorous research.”

—Public Libraries Online

“This novel is written with the lushness of a decadent meal and the sharp precision of a surgeon’s scalpel, making it both sensory and exacting. In telling the story of August Sweeney’s life and death, Ashworth creates a world that is as outlandishly raucous as it is deeply personal.”

—Electric Literature

“One of the most sumptuous and inventive novels I’ve read in years. In language that sings with seductive detail, Ashworth twines the stories of a magnetic celebrity chef with the obsessive doctor assigned to his autopsy. Not since Jim Crace’s Being Dead has death contained all the drama and intrigue of life. I flew through this novel.”

—Tania James, National Book Award-listed author of Loot