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The Solace Of Leaving EarlyStock informationGeneral Fields
Special Fields
DescriptionLangston Braverman has just walked out on her PhD oral exams and returned home to Haddington, Indiana in a fragile emotional state. She retreats to her parents' attic, unsure what to do with the summer or the rest of her life, but with vague plans to write the great American novel. But it's hot, and she is distracted beyond capacity to think by the banality of this small-town home she has returned to, and plunged deep in the trauma of a self-imposed existential dilemma from which not even news of the death of her childhood best friend, Alice, can rouse her. Reviews'Kimmel's wonderful debut novel is vivid and hopeful, packed with astute allusions to philosophy, theology, sacred art and literature. She uses her sharply drawn observations to add a generous amount of humour to the novel, and does a terrific job of dancing back and forth across the line between tragedy and comedy. Fragile, funny Langston Braverman is a stand-in for all those girls who run headlong away from their roots, only to find that they've left something important behind.' San Francisco Chronicle 'To be read for its characters, its surprising phrasing and the way it deals with all sorts of ideas, including the possibility of improbable love.' USA Today Reviews for A Girl Named Zippy 'Parenting experts would gag, but Zippy's parents must have done something right to produce a girl who could write such a simple, lovely book.' USA Today 'It's a cliche to say that a good memoir reads like a well-crafted work of fiction, but Kimmel's smooth, impeccably humorous prose evokes her childhood as vividly as any novel.' Publishers Weekly Author descriptionhaven kimmel is the author of the memoir A Girl Named Zippy. She studied English and creative writing at Ball State University and North Carolina State University. She also attended seminary at the Earlham School of Religion. |