Simple Recipes
Page 16
10. In “A Map of the City,” how is Miriam’s marriage affected by her relationship with her parents? Why does she tell Will so little about her family?
11. At the beginning of “A Map of the City,” Miriam and her father seem to be very close. Yet she reveals that “my father would often say that I had ruined his life” (page 165). How does this seeming contradiction inform their later relationship? How does Miriam’s view of her father change as she grows up?
The Evidence Against Her
A novel by Robb Forman Dew
“A gorgeous, important book…. Dew’s characters are fiercely imagined, fiercely alive on the page.”
— Beth Kephart, Chicago Tribune
“At the book’s end… there is that tremendous satisfaction that only this multigenerational kind of story can give. Robb Forman Dew has a powerful way with prose. Her language is lush and beautiful.”
— Joanna Rose, Portland Oregonian
House of Women
A novel by Lynn Freed
“Irresistible…. An unusual and unusually satisfying novel.”
— Kathryn Harrison, New York Times Book Review
“House of Women is surprising and inevitable, often in the same sentence. It illuminates and, at the same time, deepens the human mystery. I don’t ask for more from a book.”
— Michael Cunningham, author of The Hours
The Gospel of Judas
A novel by Simon Mawer
“A superior novel…. A noteworthy achievement…. An intellectual thriller of uncommon substance.”
— Chauncey Mabe, Boston Globe
“Mawer’s prose is admirably lyrical, playful, and precise. His greatest strength, however, is in crafting probing, puzzlelike narratives that yield compelling dramas of the mind and heart.”
— Michael Upchurch, Atlantic Monthly
Martin Sloane
A novel by Michael Redhill
“A striking first novel…. Reading Martin Sloane made me feel melancholic, hopeful, amused, energized, enlightened, unnerved, touched, and finally grateful that occasionally a writer comes along who gets real life just right.”
— Bliss Broyard, New York Times Book Review
“A deeply moving first novel that reveals human truths with grace and humor. It is a book of constant surprises.”
— Michael Ondaatje
Sea Glass
A novel by Anita Shreve
“A helluva read…. Shreve simply has the Gift — the ability to hook you from the first page, draw you in and pull you along, and not let go until the final word!’
— Zofia Smardz, Washington Post Book World
“Shreve’s four-hankie plots are pure silk, and her characters are so real you can feel them sitting next to you on the couch.”
— Michelle Vellucci, People
All the Finest Girls
A novel by Alexandra Styron
“An impressive, highly charged novel about a virtually taboo subject — nannying — displaying keen insight into the burdens of inheritance in its many forms: money, love, creative temperament.”
— Benjamin Anastas, New York Observer
“Extremely moving and powerful.”
— Heller McAlpin, Washington Post Book World
“Wise and tender tales…. Thien weaves dark magic.” —LISA SHEA, ELLE
THE STORIES IN THIS STUNNING, PRIZEWINNING DEBUT COLLECTION chart the uneven progress of love and tay bare the heartbreaking truths at the core of our closest bonds. Telling of subtle betrayals and sudden departures, legacies that cannot be escaped and dreams that will never be realized, these spare, haunting tales uncannily capture who we are, how we live, why we feel and act as we do—as mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, daughters and sons—and in so doing cast brilliant fresh light on family life today.
“The trajectories of Thien’s stories are unpredictable; though her characters dream of following simple recipes, they are themselves undeniably original creations.”—Janice P. Nimura, New York Times Book Review
“Thien’s portraits of these painful, guilt-ridden, love-drenched relationships are remarkably rich.” —Donna Rifkind, Baltimore Sun
“A dazzling debut.” —Vogue
“Thien’s graceful navigation of complex and varying depths of emotion and thought infuses sadness with light and beauty.”—Sarah Gianelli, Portland Oregonian
“This is surely the debut of a splendid writer. I am astonished by the clarity and ease of the writing, and a kind of emotional purity.”—Alice Munro
Madeleine Thien is the Canadian-born daughter of Malaysian-Chinese immigrants. She holds an M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of British Columbia. She lives in Vancouver.