This week's featured book is A Sudden Light by Garth Stein. This new release is described by Good Housekeeping as a "Haunting family saga", a perfect read as we enter the month of October.
Here is the description from Simon & Schuster:
The bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain presents a long-awaited new novel in which a boy trying to save his parents’ marriage uncovers a vast legacy of family secrets.
In the summer of 1990, fourteen-year-old Trevor Riddell gets his first glimpse of Riddell House. Built from the spoils of a massive timber fortune, the legendary family mansion is constructed of giant whole trees and is set on a huge estate overlooking Seattle’s Puget Sound. Trevor’s bankrupt parents have begun a trial separation, and his father, Jones Riddell, has brought Trevor to Riddell House with a goal: to join forces with his sister, Serena, dispatch the ailing and elderly Grandpa Samuel to a nursing home, sell off the house and property for development, divide up the profits, and live happily ever after.
But as Trevor explores the house’s secret stairways and hidden rooms, he discovers a spirit lingering in Riddell House whose agenda is at odds with the family plan. Only Trevor’s willingness to face the dark past of his forefathers will reveal the key to his family’s future.
Spellbinding and atmospheric, A Sudden Light is rich with unconventional characters, scenes of transcendent natural beauty, and unforgettable moments of emotional truth that reflect Garth Stein’s outsized capacity for empathy and keen understanding of human motivation—a triumphant work of a master storyteller at the height of his power.
Here's what the critics are saying:
"Take equal parts mystery, lyrical magic, and a healthy dose of natural wonder, add a multi-generational family struggling with the ghosts of the past, literally and figuratively, and you have A Sudden Light—a beautiful, deeply thought-provoking story that is impossible to put down." (Jamie Ford, author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet)
“Wow! I devoured A Sudden Light, a grand, gorgeous, multi-generational epic of the Pacific Northwest. Garth Stein has given us another singular, soulful, and wise narrator for the ages, who tells us a story full of mystery and yearning. I adored this book.” (Maria Semple, New York Times bestselling author of Where’d You Go, Bernadette)
“This magnificent and haunting ghost story will pull you into its world and hold you captive, awe you with the enduring power and beauty of nature, and, on every page, fill you with amazement at Stein’s infinite compassion for the human condition…. A major achievement by a major American writer.” (Robert Goolrick, author of A Reliable Wife and Heading Out to Wonderful)
"Haunting in all the right ways." (Booklist, starred review)
“A Sudden Light is the best of many genres: a ghost story, a love story, historical fiction….a truly killer read…a bold, poignant book about wealth, family ties, and the power—and fallacy—of memory.” (BookPage)
"A haunting family saga." (Good Housekeeping)
Simon & Schuster are kindly offering to give away 3 copies. Please enter the giveaway via the rafflecopter widget below. The giveaway is open to U.S. residents only (terms set by the publisher). The winners will be announced on the widget and contacted by email one week from today. Best of luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
News
At Home With Madame Chic comes out next week! Learn more on my author website.
Watch my newly released TEDx talk on The Ten-Item Wardrobe here.
Upcoming Events
Southern California readers: come meet me at one of my upcoming book signings:
October 8, 2014 Pages A Bookstore, Manhattan Beach, CA presentation, Q&A + book signing 7pm
October 28, 2014 DIESEL bookstore, Brentwood, CA Presentation, Q&A + book signing 7pm
November 2, 2014 Laguna Beach Books Presentation, Q&A + signing 4pm
(more venues and dates to be announced)
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