Synopses & Reviews
“I think the most beautiful things in the world are things in flux,” says Kat Warren-Bineki, the heroine of
Nude Walker. Everything about Kats world is in flux. She hails from Warrenside, Pennsylvania, a once prosperous town named after her mothers family. With the death of the steel industry, Warrenside has fallen on hard times; when its economy falters, Kat and her parents are among the few citizens still eking out a living there. And then theres Kats love life. As the young, beautiful granddaughter of a proud old-guard industrialist, she has plenty of suitors and a longtime boyfriend; certainly she has no business falling in love with Max Asad. After all, Max is the aloof only son of a newly arrived Lebanese entrepreneur who, despite the resistance of Warrensides traditionalists, has bought up most of its dilapidated downtown and is trying to get it off life support.
But when Max and Kat return from Afghanistan, where both served with the National Guard, they share a series of intriguing encounters, and soon neither can deny that their romance has changed them. Kat forfeits her social standing by declaring love for a bitterly resented foreigner, and when Maxs heart wins out, he jeopardizes his fathers dreams for a brighter, better Warrenside. As their families feud (sometimes comically, sometimes ferociously), the old town braces for an epic flood, and the citys denizens try frantically to realize their ambitions—with love, lust, insurance fraud, hallucinations . . . any means of outrunning their obsolescence.
Above all, Nude Walker is a story of forbidden love seen through the prism of post-industrial America. Bathsheba Monk writes with flinty wit and warm spirit, but shes unlike other writers we know. In a voice as true as it is disarming, she depicts the kaleidoscopic tensions between generations and cultures. As Library Journal said about her, “Monk makes us see that we are all exiles in a changing world.” In Nude Walker, she offers an unlikely romance about the fantastical myths we weave to define ourselves in unmoored times.
Review
“You know how writers are always cautioned not to have too many plates in the air? Well, Bathsheba Monk lets those plates fly and dance and whirl like dervishes and shiver like wronged lovers and spin like hilarious idiots. I found myself looking up, up, wondering how she would pull it off—and then I was reading without stopping, because I couldnt tear myself away. Nude Walker has everything: war and conflict, sex and betrayal, old-money people and fresh-dollar newcomers, and always, men and women looking for the purest kind of love, even if it burns too hot.” —Susan Straight, author of Take One Candle Light a Room and Highwire Moon
Review
"A pitch-perfect portrayal of class warfare...Monk is a sure-footed storyteller who comically, affectionately, poignantly maps the emotional minefields of the northeastern heartland---and the heart."---
More "A precision-choreographed subversion of American myths….[Everyone] is looking to swap the cards theyve been dealt."---The New York Times Book Review
"A Romeo and Juliet tale...Instead of sixteenth-century Verona, Monk gives us a twenty-first-century American community whose face is changing to the accompaniment of fear and bigotry....A rewarding read."---The Philadelphia Inquirer
"Monk is a fantastic writer."---The Cleveland Plain Dealer
"Bathsheba Monks refreshing, beautifully written new novel, Nude Walker, is a must-read book---filled with telling and memorable images of Arab Americans. Nude Walker reveals that we are not a monolithic community, that there exists much goodness about us, a goodness that is seldom reflected in popular culture."---Dr. Jack Shaheen, author of Reel Bad Arabs
"You know how writers are always cautioned not to have too many plates in the air? Well, Bathsheba Monk lets those plates fly and dance and whirl like dervishes and shiver like wronged lovers and spin like hilarious idiots. I found myself looking up, up, wondering how she would pull it off—and then I was reading without stopping, because I couldnt tear myself away. Nude Walker has everything: war and conflict, sex and betrayal, old-money people and fresh-dollar newcomers, and always men and women looking for the purest kind of love, even if it burns too hot." ---Susan Straight, author of Take One Candle Light a Room and Highwire Moon
Synopsis
Who You Fall in Love With Is Never an Accident Nude Walker is a love story seen through the prism of postindustrial America. Its set in Warrenside, Pennsylvania, which hasnt prospered since the steel industry died. There, Kat Warren-Bineki, the daughter of old-guard industrialists, falls for Max Asad, the son of nouveau riche Lebanese immigrants. The two should never have met, but their paths crossed as they returned from Afghanistan, where each served with the National Guard. Now Kat is forfeiting her social standing by declaring love for a bitterly resented foreigner, and when his heart strays, Max jeopardizes his fathers dreams. As the families feud (sometimes comically, sometimes ferociously), Warrenside braces for an epic flood, and the citys citizens try to keep busywith love, lust, insurance fraud, hallucinations . . . any means of outrunning the past. Bathsheba Monk writes with the spirit of Barbara Kingsolver and the flinty wit of Richard Russo, but shes unlike other writers we know. In a voice as true as it is disarming, she depicts the kaleidoscopic tensions between generations and cultures. As Library Journal once noted, “Monk makes us see that we are all exiles in a changing world.” In Nude Walker, she offers an unlikely romance about the fantastical myths we weave to define ourselves in unmoored times.
Synopsis
Set in Warrenside, Pennsylvania, Nude Walker is the story of forbidden love seen through the prism of post-industrial America. When Kat Warren-Bineki, the daughter of old industrialists, and Max Asad, the son of Lebanese immigrants, return from Afghanistan, where they both served in the National Guard, the two share a series of intriguing encounters, leading to a romance that will change them forever. Bathseheba Monk writes in a voice as true as it is disarming, depicting the kaleidoscopic tensions between generations and cultures.
About the Author
Bathsheba Monk is the author of Now You See It . . . Stories from Cokesville, PA. She lives in Pennsylvania, where she is writing her next novel and developing a musical. She writes radio essays and interviews other artists on National Public Radios Lehigh Valley affiliate, WDIY. Visit her online at www.bathshebamonk.com.