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Interviews | January 3, 2012

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Naomi BenaronRunning the Rift is the most recent winner of the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, as awarded by Barbara Kingsolver. It's also an... Continue »
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Wickett's Remedy: A Novel

by Myla Goldberg

Wickett's Remedy: A Novel Cover

ISBN13: 9781400078127
ISBN10: 1400078121
Condition: Standard
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

The triumphant follow-up to the bestselling Bee Season, Wickett's Remedy is an epic but intimate novel about a young Irish-American woman facing down tragedy during the Great Flu epidemic of 1918.

Lydia Kilkenny is eager to move beyond her South Boston childhood, and when she marries Henry Wickett, a shy Boston Brahmin who plans to become a doctor, her future seems assured. That path changes when Henry abandons his medical studies and enlists Lydia to help him invent a mail-order medicine called Wickett's Remedy. Then the 1918 influenza epidemic sweeps through Boston, and in a world turned upside down Lydia must forge her own path through the tragedy unfolding around her. As she secures work as a nurse at a curious island medical station conducting human research into the disease, Henry's former business partner steals the formula for Wickett's Remedy to create for himself a new future, trying — and almost succeeding — to erase the past he is leaving behind.

Alive with narrative ingenuity, and tinged with humor as well as sorrow, this inspired recreation of a forgotten era powerfully reminds us how much individual voices matter — in history and in life.

Review:

"An epic story that is sure to become a classic....Like Bee Season, this sorrowful, humorous and tender novel utterly satisfies. Congratulations to Goldberg on another masterpiece." Library Journal

Review:

"[A] rich historical re-creation whose energy and ingenuity evoke memories of E.L. Doctorow's classic Ragtime....A fine novel very much in the American vein, and a quantum leap forward for the gifted Goldberg." Kirkus Reviews

Review:

"An engrossing look at how one young woman grows through personal losses at a time when so many lost so much." The Philadelphia Inquirer

Review:

"Her second novel is of a piece with [Bee Season] in its invention and stylistic skill....A warmhearted, unusual and intelligent consideration of a world about which few people know." San Francisco Chronicle

Review:

"Heavy on period detail and literary style, but light on plot, Myla Goldberg's disappointing second novel is easy to set down." Rocky Mountain News

Review:

"Goldberg guides us through...wonderfully well-written chapters that would have made a strong short novel all on their own. Unfortunately, the book's power dissipates in its final movement." New York Times

Review:

"In spite of its ornate structure, Wickett's Remedy is an appealingly straightforward tale about strength of spirit in times of crisis." Minneapolis Star Tribune

Synopsis:

The triumphant follow-up to the bestselling Bee Season, Wickett's Remedy is an epic but intimate novel about a young Irish-American woman facing down tragedy during the Great Flu epidemic of 1918.
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About the Author

Myla Goldberg is the author of the bestselling Bee Season, which was named a New York Times Notable Book in 2000 and made into a film, and, most recently, of Time's Magpie, a book of essays about Prague. Her short stories have appeared in Harper's, McSweeney's, and failbetter. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
AbiRuth, June 19, 2009 (view all comments by AbiRuth)
I fell hard for Myla Goldberg's storytelling about ten pages into this book. My experience was that--rather than being distracting--the voices of the past, the seemingly disconnected storylines, even the QD bits--made the story richer. Rather than merely crafting a tale around a bit of history, Goldberg's gathering of perspectives suggests the universal and diverse impact of both the great historical events and small every day experiences.

I was especially crazy about the voices from beyond the grave. I love to imagine multiple perspectives of the same story. I read a review of this book once that claimed that the input of the deceased made them sound like they were all self-absorbed jerks. I disagree. I feel that it was true to the way that our own perspectives and subconscious needs shape our memories. It's a beautiful testament to unspoken hopes.

Read it. Immediately.
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Cathy from Olympia, Washington, March 4, 2008 (view all comments by Cathy from Olympia, Washington)
One might say the main character of Wickett's Remedy is the devastating 1918 "Spanish" flu epidemic (which is thought to have begun in the United States). But sometimes the main story seems to lose it's way in a mishmash of narrative, newspaper clippings, marginal commentaries, and publicity and "training" materials for QD soda company. (I found the QD bits particularly distracting). That said, over-all the book was quite interesting and well worth reading, particularly in light of today's federal and state government influenza pandemic planning and preparation.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9781400078127
Author:
Goldberg, Myla
Publisher:
Anchor Books
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Widows
Subject:
Patent medicines.
Subject:
Historical fiction
Subject:
Literature-A to Z
Copyright:
2006
Edition Number:
Reprint ed.
Edition Description:
Trade paper
Publication Date:
October 10, 2006
Binding:
TRADE PAPER
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
370
Dimensions:
8.00x5.26x.85 in. .63 lbs.
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Related Aisles

Wickett's Remedy: A Novel Used Trade Paper
0 stars - 0 reviews
$3.95 In Stock
Product details 370 pages Anchor Books - English 9781400078127 Reviews:
"Review" by , "An epic story that is sure to become a classic....Like Bee Season, this sorrowful, humorous and tender novel utterly satisfies. Congratulations to Goldberg on another masterpiece."
"Review" by , "[A] rich historical re-creation whose energy and ingenuity evoke memories of E.L. Doctorow's classic Ragtime....A fine novel very much in the American vein, and a quantum leap forward for the gifted Goldberg."
"Review" by , "An engrossing look at how one young woman grows through personal losses at a time when so many lost so much."
"Review" by , "Her second novel is of a piece with [Bee Season] in its invention and stylistic skill....A warmhearted, unusual and intelligent consideration of a world about which few people know."
"Review" by , "Heavy on period detail and literary style, but light on plot, Myla Goldberg's disappointing second novel is easy to set down."
"Review" by , "Goldberg guides us through...wonderfully well-written chapters that would have made a strong short novel all on their own. Unfortunately, the book's power dissipates in its final movement."
"Review" by , "In spite of its ornate structure, Wickett's Remedy is an appealingly straightforward tale about strength of spirit in times of crisis."
"Synopsis" by , The triumphant follow-up to the bestselling Bee Season, Wickett's Remedy is an epic but intimate novel about a young Irish-American woman facing down tragedy during the Great Flu epidemic of 1918.
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