Chris Bohjalian is the critically acclaimed author of ten novels, including "Midwives "(a Publishers Weekly Best Book and an Oprah's Book Club selection) and his most recent "New York Times" bestseller, "Before You Know Kindness." His work has been translated into eighteen languages and published in twenty-one countries. He lives with his wife and daughter in Vermont.
Laurel Estabrook, a young social worker living in Vermont, becomes
obsessed with a box of photographs that belonged to a deceased
homeless man, Bobbie Crocker. An amateur photographer herself,
Laurel wonders how someone as destitute as Crocker came to possess
such high-quality photos, many of them featuring famous people and,
bizarrely, Laurel's childhood town. As she devotes more and more
time to researching Crocker's past, her friends and family become
concerned for her mental well-being. Six years previously, Laurel
was attacked by two men in the woods while riding her bike, and
though she recovered enough to finish college and get a job, she
remains fragile. Bohjalian, whose Midwives was an Oprah Book Club
selection, adds original and creative elements to this tale by
blending the story of The Great Gatsby with Laurel's story and
including photographs by a real-life homeless man named Bob
Campbell. Far from being simply a mystery story, this is a complex
exploration of the human psyche and its efforts to heal and survive
in whatever manner possible. Recommended for all fiction
collections.
-"Library Journal," Starred Review
"
"Psychological thriller, crime novel and "what-if" sequel to The
Great Gatsby--with significant twists. Schizophrenic, yes, and
alcoholic--but Bobbie Crocker isn't your stereotypical street
person. Bohjalian (Before You Know Kindness, 2004, etc.) invests
him with mystery; when he dies in Burlington, Vt., he leaves behind
photographs from 1960s issues of Life magazine. Eartha Kitt, Dick
Van Dyke, Muddy Waters--they're celebrity shots he took, combined
with elegant evocations of Jazz Age Long Island. Laurel Estabrook,
social worker at Crocker's shelter, discovers something else among
them: a snapshot of herself riding a bike, just as she had, seven
years before, when savaged by two thugs. The attack scarring her,
she'd retreated into PTSD therapy, affairs with comforting, if
noncommittal, father figures and a life less of ambitio
Readers will be startled to learn early on that the heroine of this engrossing puzzle, 26-year-old Laurel Estabrook, was born in West Egg. Wait a minute, wasn't West Egg where Jay Gatsby lived? Laurel works in a Burlington, Vt., homeless shelter and is trying to overcome mental and physical scars incurred from a brutal assault some six years earlier. After being given a portfolio of photographs taken by a recently deceased resident of the shelter, Bobbie Crocker, she becomes obsessed with questions surrounding what appears to be a picture of herself shot on the day of her attack. Laurel's already fragile mental state begins to unravel as she follows Bobbie's life from his rich-kid childhood on Long Island to homelessness in Vermont. The Gatsby references form the basis of the mystery, compelling readers to try to imagine how this fictional backdrop relates to the novel's "reality." It's a high-wire act for bestseller Bohjalian (Midwives), and while the climactic explanation may be a letdown for some, he generally pulls off a tricky and intriguing premise. (Feb.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Laurel Estabrook, a young social worker living in Vermont, becomes
obsessed with a box of photographs that belonged to a deceased
homeless man, Bobbie Crocker. An amateur photographer herself,
Laurel wonders how someone as destitute as Crocker came to possess
such high-quality photos, many of them featuring famous people and,
bizarrely, Laurel's childhood town. As she devotes more and more
time to researching Crocker's past, her friends and family become
concerned for her mental well-being. Six years previously, Laurel
was attacked by two men in the woods while riding her bike, and
though she recovered enough to finish college and get a job, she
remains fragile. Bohjalian, whose Midwives was an Oprah Book Club
selection, adds original and creative elements to this tale by
blending the story of The Great Gatsby with Laurel's story and
including photographs by a real-life homeless man named Bob
Campbell. Far from being simply a mystery story, this is a complex
exploration of the human psyche and its efforts to heal and survive
in whatever manner possible. Recommended for all fiction
collections.
-"Library Journal," Starred Review
"
"Psychological thriller, crime novel and "what-if" sequel to The
Great Gatsby--with significant twists. Schizophrenic, yes, and
alcoholic--but Bobbie Crocker isn't your stereotypical street
person. Bohjalian (Before You Know Kindness, 2004, etc.) invests
him with mystery; when he dies in Burlington, Vt., he leaves behind
photographs from 1960s issues of Life magazine. Eartha Kitt, Dick
Van Dyke, Muddy Waters--they're celebrity shots he took, combined
with elegant evocations of Jazz Age Long Island. Laurel Estabrook,
social worker at Crocker's shelter, discovers something else among
them: a snapshot of herself riding a bike, just as she had, seven
years before, when savaged by two thugs. The attack scarring her,
she'd retreated into PTSD therapy, affairs with comforting, if
noncommittal, father figures and a life less of ambitio
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