Share a time book of the year a washington post book world notable book for the kellehers, maine is a place where children run in packs, showers are taken outdoors, and old irish songs are sung around a piano. Maine sullivans second novel, maine, deals with four women from three different generations of the same family spending the summer at a beachfront cottage in new england. At the end, while alice was in church praying the rosary, she hears footsteps and. Like many fictional characters, the bostonirish kellehers of j. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. The dialogue sizzles as the tension between the womens love and. She is a contributor to the essay anthology the secret currency of love and coeditor of click. It is june, and three generations of the kelleher clan are preparing to. Courtney sullivan, is an american novelist and former writer for the new york times. As summer comes to an end, their quiescent troubles explode, and each must learn to forge a new beginning. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read maine. I grew up outside of boston, about a ninetyminute drive from. I hope to read another novel as strong and wise and beautiful and heartbreaking as j. Meg wolitzer, author of the uncoupling a wonderful pageturner.
Courtney sullivan s maine is evocative, funny, closequartered, and highly appealing. Maine by j courtney sullivan, 9780307742216, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Courtney sullivan s saints for all occasions this year, but im not sure i will. Though sullivan did not base the fictional kellehers directly on her own irishcatholic family, she drew on her own childhood experiences while writing the novel. It is june, and three generations of the kelleher clan are preparing to assemble for their seasonal retreat. Courtney sullivan s second novel, which delves into the secrets and simmering emotions of one dysfunctional family over the course of a single summer month. If youre not a member of a book club, consider starting one up with your mother or your daughter maine is a perfect family read. Courtney sullivan s engrossing and entertaining new novel. Courtney sullivan is the author of the new york times bestselling novel, commencement. Courtney sullivan is the new york times bestselling author of the novels commencement, maine, the engagements, and saints for all occasions.
Maine, her sophomore effort, has built upon her first novel, commencement, about a. Courtney sullivan has a new book, the engagements, out in the coming weeks, but that did not stop her from spending time talking with us about her previous novel, maine, including what she thinks happens to the main characters, her inspiration for the book, and the importance of eavesdropping. Alice has carried guilt over her sisters premature death for decades and, as a result, has. For the kellehers, maine is a place where children. The dialogue sizzles as the tension between the womens love and anger toward one another tightens. Maine was named a 2011 time magazine best book of the year and a washington post notable book. Maine vintage contemporaries paperback copperfields. And in her second novel, maine, out this month from knopf, she has.
Courtney sullivan made a name for herself in 2009 with a smart, incredibly resonant debut, commencement, about four unlikely friends during their college years at smith and the turbulent 20something years that followed. Sullivan narrates the tale with verve and precision, drawing the reader into a compelling portrait of a specific family as it changes with the values and accidents of each era. Courtney sullivan this family saga has some funny scenes a favorite in my book club stay safe and healthy. You want to stay with the kellehers straight through to the end of. Richard russo all of her books are worth reading, but sullivan s latest, about the divergent life paths of two irish immigrant sisters, may be her very best. If the three generations of guiltridden, backbiting, willful, scheming kelleher women in j. Courtney sullivan explored the complicated and contradictory landscape of female friendship. The washington post sullivan beautifully channels alice through her memoriesthe dialogue sizzles as the tension between the womens love and anger toward one another tightensyou dont want the novel to end.
Courtney sullivan, the bestselling author of maine, saints for all occasions begins in ireland in the 1950s when two sisters, nora and theresa flynn, set off for boston. The women each face internal battles and external conflicts. She comes from an irishcatholic family where many of the women go by their middle rather than first names. You want to stay with the kellehers straight through to the end of august, until the. Now, in her highly anticipated second novel, sullivan takes us into even richer territory, introducing four unforgettable women who have nothing in common but the fact that, like it or not, theyre family. Ann marie, and her granddaughter maggie all end up at the family summer home in maine. Courtney sullivans engrossing and entertaining new novel. Courtney sullivan s earlier novels, especially the 2011 best seller maine, will likely also love saints for all occasions. Nora will marry their irish neighbor, charlie rafferty, who has emigrated there. The engagements was one of people magazines top ten books of 20 and an irish times best. Alas, a mother never is afraid, of speaking angrily to any child, since love, she knows, is justified of love. Courtney sullivan is the new york times bestselling author of the novels saints for all occasions, the engagements, maine, and commencement. Courtney sullivan is the author of the new york times bestselling novel commencement.
Maine was named a best book of the year by time magazine, and a washington post notable book for 2011. Sullivan has created in the kelleher women a cast of flawed but lovable characters so real, with their shared history of guilt and heartache and secret resentments, that im sure ill be thinking about them for a long. In maine, frayed family ties still bind the washington. Like all firstrate comic fiction, maine uses humor to examine the truths of the heart, in new england and far beyond.
Courtney sullivan is a powerful novel about the ties that bind. Maine by j courtney sullivan hill of content melbourne. In the end, its about the ways a persons place in time, in space, in a. Courtney sullivan is a powerful novel about the ties that bind families tight, no matter how dysfunctional. Alice, the matriarch, her daughter kathleen, her daughterinlaw ann marie, and her granddaughter maggie all end up at the family summer home in maine. About this reading group guide the questions, discussion topics, and reading list that follow are intended to enhance your reading groups discussion of maine, j. The kelleher familys beautiful house in maine is based on the family home of my best friend from high school. Courtney sullivan evidently does, too, for shes located her new novel in cape neddick, near ogunquit, where the kelleher family has owned a piece of land won on a bet since 1945. A closeknit group of 60something black women deals with loss, illness, addicted family members, and the never ending challenges of diet and exercise. For next week, were reading up to page 322 ending with alice, before maggie.
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