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Powell's Q&A, Q&A | June 24, 2009

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Twenty Questions

by Alison Clement

Twenty Questions Cover

Staff Pick

June's close connection to a murder in her town becomes an obsession that leads her into an intimate and increasingly deceptive relationship with the dead woman's child and brother, forcing her to confront her own marriage and past. Nominated for the Oregon Book Award's Ken Kesey Award for the Novel, Alison Clement's Twenty Questions is a compelling story of violence, morality, and above all, the human being's unending desire for reinvention.
Recommended by Crystal, Powell's City of Books

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

It seemed to June that she had the perfect marriage until the day Ronald Pruettwas arrested for the murder of Vernay Hanks. Through her job at an elementaryschool, June knew both the victim's child and Pruett. Moreover, on the day of the murder, she had almost taken a ride from Pruett herself. This connectionwith the murder becomes an obsession - leading June into a deceitful andincreasingly complicated relationship with the dead woman's brother and herchild. Pretending to have been a friend of the victim, June inserts herself intotheir lives - and through this deception, soon discovers some disturbing thingsabout her marriage and herself.

Sharp and full of unsettling twists, Twenty Questions is a gripping storythat speaks of violence and betrayal, feminism, and reinvention. Above all, itspeaks of the human condition to resurrect itself, whatever the cost.

Review:

"Clement's subtle prose renders June's existential pondering and anxious thoughts convincingly and the novel's plot elements click...A fine debut." - Publishers Weekly

Review:

"Touching, funny...Twenty Questions passes the test with an A." - BookPage

Product Details

ISBN:
9780743272674
Author:
Clement, Alison
Publisher:
Washington Square Press
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
General Fiction
Subject:
Elementary school teachers
Subject:
Victims of crimes
Subject:
Suspense fiction
Subject:
Oregon
Edition Description:
Trade paper
Publication Date:
July 2007
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
273
Dimensions:
8.24x5.30x.78 in. .55 lbs.

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