Synopses & Reviews
Beautifully written, compassionate and wise, Rosellen Browns novel is the extraordinary story of a familys struggle to survive the throes of a tragedy.
Before and After centers on Carolyn and Ben Reiser and their two children, Judith and Jacob, who live comfortably in a small New England town. When the chief of police comes looking for seventeen-year-old Jacob to question him about the bludgeoning to death of his girlfriend, the Reisers lives are changed forever. Before and After is the compelling drama of the search for Jacob, his capture, and the chain of events set in motion by a brutal crime of passion. It is a story that pits parent against parent, brother against sister, family against community, blood loyalty against the law. With a flawless ear for dialogue and profound understanding of character and motive, Rosellen Brown has written a heart-wrenching novel that questions the very nature of violence in our society and our ability to ever really know our children.
Review
“An intensely gripping marvel of a book . . . both deeply compassionate and full of shocking wisdom.” - Louise Erdrich
“A painful and exhilarating novel.”—Alice Munro
“A devastatingly true novel about a family under siege. Rosellen Brown has always written brilliantly, but in Before and After she gives us a profundity, a dark simplicity, that is breathtaking.” - Frederick Busch
Review
"Powerful...provocative... unabashed, read-until-dawn page-turner."--
The New York Times Book Review"Masterful...makes us realize just how enigmatic ordinary things like family love and loyalty are. What more can we ask from a work of fiction?"--Entertainment Weekly
"Chilling...Brown writes beautifully and believably, capturing anger, doubt and bewilderment...As gripping as a well-spun murder mystery-only here the mysteries are inside."--People
"Brilliant...suspenseful...compellingly honest."--The Washington Post Book World
"Fierce, gripping and painful...a scrupulously observed work of literary fiction."--The New York Times
Synopsis
The New York Times Bestseller
A New York Times Notable Book
Carolyn and Ben Reiser moved to Hyland, New Hampshire with their two children for the comforts of rural life. But when the local police chief comes looking for their seventeen-year-old son Jacob to question him about the brutal murder of his girlfriend, the Reisers' lives begin to unravel.
A compelling story that will capture you in the opening scene and hold you through its shocking conclusion, Before and After is a stunning novel that pits parent against parent, brother against sister, family against community, blood loyalty against law-as "deep questions of loyalty, honesty, and love are forced to the surface in this psychologically riveting tale." (Library Journal)
About the Author
Rosellen Brown is the author of four other novels,
The Autobiography of My Mother,
Tender Mercies,
Civil Wars, and
Half a Heart; a collection of stories,
Street Games; and three collections of poetry,
Some Deaths in the Delta,
Cora Fry, and
Cora Fry's Pillow Book. She lives in Chicago.