Rachel Monroe is a writer based in Marfa, Texas. Her work has been published in or is forthcoming from The Believer, Tin House, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and the Awl. You can find more of her work at therachelmonroe.tumblr.com.
A multi-generation novel is a risky thing. What gives it that unity that distinguishes a novel from a book of linked short stories? How does an author handle the passage…