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More copies of this ISBN:Other titles in the Flyover Fiction series:Because a Fire Was in My Head (Flyover Fiction)by Lynn Stegner
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:Kate Riley is not the sort of heroine we meet in most American novels. Self-centered, shape-shifting, driven from one man to another and one city to the next, she is all too real—but not at all the loyal and steady homebody of idealized womanhood. When we first encounter her, Kate (or Katherine, or Kate of the Prairie, or Katrina) is about to undergo exploratory brain surgery for a condition she herself has fabricated. Sobered by the gravity of the procedure, she commences a journey of memory that takes us back to the Saskatchewan village where she grew up and to the singular event that altered her forever and irrevocably set the course of her life. From her childhood, in which she was held captive to a mother gone mad, through her adult life, which unfolds as a mesmerizing sequence of men, abandoned children, and perpetual movement, Kate’s story is one of desperation and remarkable invention, a strangely American tale, brilliantly narrated by one of our most original writers.
Review:"It's hard to care about [Kate], which could prompt some readers to give up on the character, and the book. This would be a shame, as Stegner's meaty, eloquent prose, and the book's satisfying conclusion, make Kate's story ultimately worthy of seeing through to the end."-Quill and Quire (Dory Cerny, Quill and Quire, Apr 9 2007 )Review:"Having been a writer's writer for 20 years, Lynn Stegner is not exactly new. Yet her latest book, Because a Fire Was in My Head, will undoubtedly catapult her to literary fame. . . . Stegner has rendered a truly tragic story, yet she writes it beautifully, demonstrating the stunning things that can be done with the English language when one is gifted."-Deseret Morning News (Deseret Morning News)Review:"Lynn Stegner's portrait of a lost lady is as authentically compassionate as it is unsparing, a rare feat in fiction-and in life, for that matter. Accomplished from the outset of her career, Stegner has achieved here a level of mastery that places her in an elite group of those writing serious literature in America."-Frederick Turner, author of Redemption (Frederick Turner, May 22 2006 )Review:"Brave and old-fashioned, Stegner's supple use of language and precise evocation of period and place bring a literary intuitiveness to this inventive portrait of a scheming temptress, rendering with disarming psychological acuity Kate's warring self-serving and self-destructive tendencies. Kate is too egocentric to be a sympathetic heroine, yet through Stegner's masterful treatment, she does become a forceful, persuasive, and wholly mesmerizing character."-Booklist (Carol Haggas, Booklist, Feb 12 2007 )Review:"A strikingly rendered, dark and troubling novel about one womans confused journey toward what she believes may very well be herself. With exquisite precision, Lynn Stegner has captured Kate Rileys life in all its shadows and specters. A harrowing book, beautifully told."-Bret Lott, author of Jewel (Brett Lott, May 1 2006 )Review:"A brilliant book, more solid than the ground we stand on. This novel does honor to the best in the tradition of storytelling, even though you occasionally want to shove the heroine off the highest possible cliff. In other words, you are drawn into the story, and when you have finished you have added amplitude to your knowledge of the human condition."-Jim Harrison, author of Legends of the Fall (Jim Harrison, May 8 2006 )Review:"[S]tunning . . . The poetic detail of Stegner's sentences-not to mention her wanton protagonist-is reminiscent of the novels of John Updike. . . . Because a Fire Was in My Head, her most ambitious novel so far, ought to attract for Stegner the wider audience she so richly deserves."-Julia Scheeres, New York Times Book Review, "Editor's Choice" (New York Times Book Review)About the AuthorLynn Stegner is the author of four novels, including Undertow, Fata Morgana, and Pipers at the Gates of Dawn. The manuscript for Because a Fire Was in My Head won the William Faulkner–William Wisdom Award for Best Novel of 2005. The book became a Literary Ventures Selection as well as a New York Times Editors’ Choice selection. Stegner currently teaches fiction writing in Stanford University’s Continuing Studies Program and lives in Point Reyes Station with her husband, writer Page Stegner, and their daughter, Allison. What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
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