The Arsonist; Sue Miller
Knopf / Doubleday - June 2014
Overview
From the best-selling author of While I Was Gone and
The Senator's Wife, a superb new novel about a family and a community
tested when an arsonist begins setting fires to the homes of the summer
people in a small New England town.
After decades of summering in
Pomeroy, New Hampshire, Sylvia Rowley has decided to retire to the house
she loves with her brilliant but increasingly scattered husband, Alfie,
until now a professor at the local college. Her son, Clark, is
renovating a small house on their property. Her daughter Frankie, who
lives and works in Africa, returns home for her first extended visit in
years and begins an unexpected romance with the editor of the local
newspaper, himself newly arrived and hoping to save it. Over the course
of two summer months, class and social fault lines are exposed, and the
simmering question of who owns the land and the town is brought to a
boil as fires continue to rage through Pomeroy's homes and the arsonist
remains at large.
Suspenseful, sophisticated, rich in psychological nuance and emotional insight, The Arsonist
is vintage Sue Miller—a finely wrought novel about belonging and
community, possibility and finitude, and the question of how and where
to live, what it means to lead a fulfilling life. One of our most
elegant and engrossing novelists at her inimitable best.
I think I'll add this title to my list - sounds good, Diane.
ReplyDeleteSounds really good! Will add it to my library list for this summer.
ReplyDeleteDang, that really does sound good!
ReplyDeleteI already have this on my wishlist. I have read almost all of Sue Miller's books starting with The Good Mother years and years ago. Thanks for reminding me that this is coming soon.
ReplyDeleteI have pre-ordered it! I love Sue Miller...and this one sounds especially good. Like Rita, one of my favorites of hers was The Good Mother.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds worth waiting for. Thanks for the preview, Diane!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds terrific. Can't wait to see what you think of it
ReplyDeleteThe novel seems to tackle a lot of timely and interesting questions. Good choice.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to reading this one. I loved The Senator's Wife and While You Were Gone. I think she had another book which was her most recent title before 2014's new book. I couldn't get into it.
ReplyDeleteJudith (Reader in the Wilderness)