Synopses & Reviews
“Insidiously, compulsively readable.” — MSNBC
At the thirtieth reunion of the Darton Hall College class of 1969, ten old friends join their classmates for a summer weekend of dancing, drinking, flirting, reminiscing, and regret. The three decades since graduation have brought marriage and divorce, children and careers, hopes deferred and replaced. July, July tells the heart-rending and often hilarious story of men and women who came into adulthood at a moment when American ideals and innocence began to fade. These lives will ring familiar to anyone who has dreamed, worked, and struggled to keep course toward a happy ending.
With humor and a sense of wistful hope, July, July speaks directly to the American character and its resilience, striking deep at the emotional center of our lives.
"A symphony of American life.” — All Things Considered, NPR
“A small-scale tour de force by an American original . . . OBrien is one of the most accomplished members of a generation of writers that includes Don DeLillo and Thomas Pynchon.” — Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"Astonishing for [its] clarity of character, for [its] narrative thrills and surprises, for [its] humor and hard-won wisdom . . . July, July gives readers plenty of reasons to celebrate." — Chicago Sun-Times
"Perceptive, affectionate and often very funny." — Boston Herald
"A deeply satisfying story . . . OBrien is intelligent and daring, but he is also eminently accessible.” — O, the Oprah Magazine
"Taut and compelling." — Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Beautifully realized, heartbreakingly honest." — Providence Journal-Bulletin
“Almost impossible to put down.” — Austin American-Statesman
Review
Dispute the following claim at your own peril: No one writes better about the Vietnam War than Tim O'Brien. But let's move on to a new, even bigger claim: No one writes better about the Vietnam generation than Tim O'Brien. Need proof? Read July, July. -- Men's Journal
O'Brien is intelligent and daring, but he is also eminently accessible; he writes in clear, fluid sentences about people we recognize leading lives that are both emblematic and intimate. -- O, The Oprah Magazine
Beset with a surprising array of characters, O'Brien's latest is every bit as haunting as his most celebrated works Library Journal Starred
A poignant and powerful page-turner, and a testament to a generation.
Publishers Weekly
Involving and beautifully written...Once again O'Brien proves he's capable of being one of our brightest and best novelists. [starred] Kirkus Reviews
Beautifully written, very moving, and very, very funny... A great book from one of America's greatest writers. --Roddy Doyle
An elegy, a reckoning, a chronicle of dashed hopes, July, July does what only Tim O'Brien could do. --James Carroll
Funny and poignant, July, July looks into the nature of our dreams and how fulfillment eludes us. --Edna O'Brien
This master chronicler of our times has won the battle for hearts and minds once again. --Jayne Ann Phillips
A great novel about the '60s by one of Esquire's favorites. -- Esquire
...this story of a Baby Boomer college reunion is both fun and affecting. O'Brien brings alive [a cast of characters] with with, insight and compassion for the ways lives go awry. The Chicago Tribune
Review
"Crackles with energy, wit and laughter . . . Schine is a great speculator in the commodities of life, a life-scientist hypothesizing madly. She's written a novel that makes feeling good feel like a good thing." Boston Globe
"Schine renders her story with such deftness and humor that the reader can't help but be enchanted . . . A delightful exercise in literary wit, a perfect summer screwball comedy." The New York Times
"A sensual treat . . . Light as a souffle, rich as a sundae, and as satisfying as love." The San Diego Union-Tribune
"Letter perfect . . . An affair to remember, a book you won't forget.
Synopsis
Tim O'Brien's ambitious, compassionate, and terrifically compelling seventh novel, called his "masterwork" by Texas Monthly, sees one of our greatest writers return to his signature themes—passion, memory, and yearning in American twentieth-century life
Synopsis
Tim O'Brien's ambitious, compassionate, and terrifically compelling seventh novel, called his masterwork by Texas Monthly, sees one of our greatest writers return to his signature themes--passion, memory, and yearning in American twentieth-century life
At the thirtieth reunion of the Darton Hall College class of 1969, ten old friends join their classmates for a summer weekend of dancing, drinking, flirting, reminiscing, and regret. The three decades since graduation have brought marriage and divorce, children and careers, hopes deferred and replaced. July, July tells the heart-rending and often hilarious story of men and women who came into adulthood at a moment when American ideals and innocence began to fade.
These lives will ring familiar to anyone who has dreamed, worked, and struggled to keep course toward a happy ending. With humor and a sense of wistful hope, July, July speaks directly to the American character and its resilience, striking deep at the emotional center of our lives.
A symphony of American life." -- All Things Considered, NPR
"A small-scale tour de force by an American original . . . O'Brien is one of the most accomplished members of a generation of writers that includes Don DeLillo and Thomas Pynchon." -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"Insidiously, compulsively readable." -- MSNBC
Astonishing for its] clarity of character, for its] narrative thrills and surprises, for its] humor and hard-won wisdom . . . July, July gives readers plenty of reasons to celebrate. -- Chicago Sun-Times
"Perceptive, affectionate and often very funny. -- Boston Herald
A deeply satisfying story . . . O'Brien is intelligent and daring, but he is also eminently accessible." -- O, the Oprah Magazine
Synopsis
At the thirtieth reunion of Minnesotas Darton Hall College class of 1969, ten old friends join their classmates for a July weekend of dancing, drinking, flirting, reminiscing, regretting. The three decades since their graduation have seen marriage and divorce, children and careers, hopes deferred and abandoned.
July, July tells the heart-rending and often hilarious story of a group of men and women who came into adulthood at a moment when American ideals and innocence began to fade. Their lives will ring familiar to anyone who has dreamed big dreams, suffered disappointment, and still struggled toward a happy ending.
Winner of the National Book Award for his novel Going After Cacciato, Tim OBrien once again strikes at the emotional center of our lives. With humor and a sense of wistful hope, July, July speaks directly to our American character and to our resilience.
Synopsis
A classic, life-changing meditation on war, memory, imagination, and the redemptive power of storytelling, with more than two-million copies in print Depicting the men of Alpha Company—Jimmy Cross, Henry Dobbins, Rat Kiley, Mitchell Sanders, Norman Bowker, Kiowa, and the character Tim OBrien, who survived his tour in Vietnam to become a father and writer at the age of forty-three—the stories in The Things They Carried opened our eyes to the nature of war in a way we will never forget. It is taught everywhere, from high school classrooms to graduate seminars in creative writing, and in the decades since its publication it has never failed to challenge our perceptions of fact and fiction, war and peace, and courage, longing, and fear.
Synopsis
Tim O'Brien is widely acclaimed as our finest chronicler of the Vietnam War and its afermath. In his ambitious, compassionate, and terrifically compelling new novel, this American master returns to his signature themes -- passion, memory, and yearning -- in a brilliant ensemble piece. July, July tells the heart-rending and often hilarious story of a group of men and women who came into adulthood at a moment when American ideals and innocence began to fade. Their lives will ring familiar to anyone who has dreamed big dreams, suffered disappointment, and still struggled toward a happy ending.
At the thirtieth reunion of Minnesota's Darton Hall College class of 1969, ten old friends join their classmates for a July weekend of dancing, drinking, flirting, reminiscing, regretting. The three decades since their graduation have seen marriage and divorce, children and careers, hopes deferred and abandoned. Two best friends toast their ex-husbands with vodka and set out for a good time. A damaged war veteran opens his soul to a Republican trophy wife recovering from a radical mastectomy. An overweight mop manufacturer with a large yet failing heart reignites his passion for a hyperkinetic housewife. And whispering in the background is the elusive Johnny Ever, part cynical angel, part conscience, the cosmic soul of ages past and of ages future.
Winner of the National Book Award for his classic novel Going After Cacciato, Tim O'Brien once again strikes at the emotional nerve center of our lives. With humor and a sense of wistful hope, July, July speaks directly to our unique American character, and to our unique resilience.
Synopsis
A repackage of the Cathleen Schine's 1993 Rameau's Niece, a comedy of manners set in New York.
Synopsis
In this delightful novel from an author who "has been favored in so many ways by the muse of comedy,"* we meet Margaret Nathan, the brilliant but forgetful author of an unlikely bestseller. Happily married to a benevolently egotistical, slightly dull but sexy professor, Margaret seems blessed—until she finds herself seduced by an eighteenthcentury novel she discovers in the library.
Rameaus Niece is wise, affecting, and thoroughly entertaining.
Wrapped in its lascivious world, Margaret begins to imitate its protagonist, embarking on a hilarious jaunt around Manhattan in search of renewed passion. Will she find fulfillment through her escapades or settle for her husband? Part romantic comedy, part intellectual parody, Rameaus Niece is wise, affecting, and thoroughly entertaining.
* New York Review of Books
Synopsis
First published to critical acclaim by Houghton Mifflin, Tim OBriens celebrated classic In the Lake of the Woods now returns to the house in a gorgeous new Mariner paperback edition. This riveting novel of love and mystery from the author of The Things They Carried examines the lasting impact of the twentieth centurys legacy of violence and warfare, both at home and abroad. When long-hidden secrets about the atrocities he committed in Vietnam come to light, a candidate for the U.S. Senate retreats with his wife to a lakeside cabin in northern Minnesota. Within days of their arrival, his wife mysteriously vanishes into the watery wilderness.
Synopsis
In four previous novels, Cathleen Schine has enchanted readers with her special brand of brainy wit and wry affection for her endearingly flawed characters. Now the best-selling author of The Love Letter takes a hilarious trip to the Galapagos Islands with a comedy of natural selection. Jane Barlow Schwartz is obsessed with one question: why did her best friend Martha stop being her best friend? The two girls, distant cousins, had shared idyllic childhood summers in the New England seaside town of Barlow, named for their family's founding fathers. Martha was not just Jane's friend but her idol, her soul mate, her confidante. Then, somewhere along the line, the friendship ended. What went wrong? Was it the family feud, which their parents spoke of only in hushed tones? What did Jane's dotty great-aunt reveal to Martha on her deathbed? Did Jane do something unforgivable? When the cousins are reunited unexpectedly on a tour of the Galapagos, they meet Darwin head on. In the pristine Pacific waters, amid blue-footed boobies and red-lipped batfish, Jane traces back through her Yankee-Cuban-Jewish ancestry to try to pinpoint the "splitting event," the moment when Martha was no longer the Martha she knew. In the process, she ponders the origin of species and the origin of friendship, the instincts of exotic wildlife and of her eccentric shipmates, the evolution of nature and of her life. The result is an antic mating of family saga and natural history. Bearing Schine's "astute ability to sum up modern relationships" (People), as well as her "wonderfully inventive comic voice" (New York Times Book Review), The Evolution of Jane sparkles with keen observations on the species known as humans. Above all, it is a warm-hearted tribute to that unique adaptation of girlhood, the selection of a very best friend.
Synopsis
In this "witty novel about family, friendship, and survival of the fittest,"* Cathleen Schine, one of our most astute social observers, examines the origin of species alongside the origins of who we come to be. In some mysterious family feud or unintended slight, Jane Barlow Schwartz lost a friend, her cousin and soul mate Martha. But years later, surrounded by the exotic wildlife of the Galápagos, Jane and Martha meet again. There, amid the antics of blue-footed boobies and red-lipped batfish, Jane sets off on a quest through her family history to pinpoint the moment when Martha was no longer the Martha she knew. In the process, she ponders instinct, natural selection, and the oddities of evolution that transform us. As Barbara Kingsolver proclaimed in the
New York Times Book Review, "We should rejoice in a rare novel like
The Evolution of Jane . . . a rollicking family saga tinged with hints of sexual intrigue . . . Three cheers."
*Elle
About the Author
Tim OBrien received the 1979 National Book Award in fiction for Going After Cacciato. Among his other books are the acclaimed novels In the Lake of the Woods, Tomcat in Love, If I Die in a Combat Zone, and July, July. In the Lake of the Woods received the James Fenimore Cooper Prize from the Society of American Historians and was named Time magazine's best novel of the year.