Monday, August 10, 2020

Events this week - Cara Black with Erin Lewenauer of Alliance Française, Randall Kenan with Kim Suhr of Red Oak Writing, Laura Jamison with Donna Drosner, Kirkland Hamill with Christina Clancy

Tuesday, August 11, 7:00 pm:
Cara Black, author of Three Hours in Paris
in conversation with Erin Lewenauer for a virtual event

Boswell virtually welcomes Cara Black back to Milwaukee. Author of the New York Times bestselling Aimée Leduc investigations chats about her first standalone thriller, a reimagining of history in which she brings to life Nazi-occupied Paris of 1941. Black will be in conversation with Erin Lewenauer of the Alliance Française de Milwaukee.  This event will be broadcast via Zoom, and registration is required. Click right here to register today! And purchase your copy of Three Hours in Paris from Boswell Book Company for 20% off list price.

In June of 1940, when Paris fell to the Nazis, Hitler spent a total of three hours in the City of Light - abruptly leaving, never to return. To this day, no one knows why. Cara Black, doyenne of the Parisian crime novel, imagines a young American markswoman who is recruited by British intelligence to drop into Paris with a dangerous assignment: assassinate the Führer. Black brings Occupation-era France to vivid life in this gripping story about one young woman with the temerity and drive to take on Hitler himself.

Maureen Corrigan writes in The Washington Post: "Three Hours in Paris isn’t just any old formulaic “Get out!” tale. It’s mystery master Cara Black’s first stand-alone novel, a spy story set during World War II in Occupied Paris. The premise is that an American female sharpshooter is parachuted into France to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Of course, she fails. Using wits alone, she must evade the Gestapo and make it back across the English Channel. Chances of success? Slim to none. Chances that you’ll be able to put Black’s thriller down once you’ve picked it up? Also slim to none."

Cara Black is author of nineteen books in the Aimée Leduc series and has received multiple nominations for the Anthony and Macavity Awards. Erin Lewenauer is the Event, Marketing, and Membership Coordinator of Alliance Française de Milwaukee and a book critic whose writing has appeared in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Seattle Times, and Rain Taxi.

Wednesday, August 12, 7:00 pm:
Randall Kenan, author of If I Had Two Wings
in conversation with Kim Suhr for a virtual event

Randall Kenan, former chancellor of the Fellowship of Southern Writers, joins us virtually for his second volume of stories, a riveting collection centered in Down East North Carolina. He’ll chat with Kim Suhr, Director of Red Oak Writing, our event cosponsor.  Register for this Zoom event by clicking this link right here, and purchase your copy of If I Had Two Wings from Boswell Book Company for 20% off list price.

Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage, says “Randall Kenan is an American master and If I Had Two Wings is his latest gift to us.” Mingling the earthy with the otherworldly, shot through with humor, and seasoned by inventiveness and maturity, Kenan riffs on appetites of all kinds, on the eerie persistence of history, and on unstoppable lovers and unexpected salvations. If I Had Two Wings is a rich chorus of voices and visions, dreams and prophecies from fictional Tims Creek, NC.

Boswellians who’ve read Kenan’s collection also have good things to say. From Daniel Goldin, “Kenan’s stories are both classic and modern, folk-infused and of-the-moment, exploring race, gender, and identity. It’s been almost thirty years since Let the Dead Bury the Dead, which I still own in hardcover; Kenan’s been busy teaching and focusing on his nonfiction writing, including several books on James Baldwin. The wait was worth it!” And Chris Lee adds, "This book is something special. Kenan so well captures the atmosphere of Down East North Carolina that you’ll feel the thick inland air close on your skin as you read. Each story is a masterclass in subtle surprise, and each life is rendered so fully that once you close the pages you’ll feel you’ve also spent a lifetime in Tims Creek. You won’t want to leave."

Randall Kenan is author of A Visitation of Spirits and Let the Dead Bury Their Dead. Kenan is a biographer of James Baldwin and has written extensively about Baldwin’s work and life. He is Professor of English and comparative literature at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Kim Suhr is Director of Red Oak Writing and author of the story collection Nothing to Lose.

Thursday, August 13, 6:00 pm:
Laura Jamison, author of All the Right Mistakes
in conversation with Donna Drosner for a Virtual Event

Whitefish Bay author Jamison chats about her debut novel, a story of five college friends, all Dartmouth grads, who’ve arrived at forty in very different circumstances. It's perfect for fans of Where’d You Go, Bernadette and Big Little Lies. She’ll chat with Donna Drosner, Director and Senior Investment Consultant of Baird’s Drosner Phillips Ristau Group.  Broadcast via Zoom, this event requires registration to view – click right here to register today! And purchase your copy of All the Right Mistakes from Boswell for 10% off list price.

When successful Heather writes a wildly popular advice book detailing the key life mistakes of her four college friends, they feel the sting of her cruel words. Despite their status, these women face everyday obstacles, including work problems, parenting challenges, secondary infertility, racism, sexism, financial stress, and marital woes - and as they weather their fortieth year, each one can’t help but wonder if their life might have been different if they had followed Heather’s advice.
Kirkus calls Jamison’s debut, “Engrossing… a compelling and enjoyable ride with five women who supposedly have it all.”

Laura Jamison is an attorney based in Whitefish Bay, and a graduate of Dartmouth College and the University of Michigan Law School.

Monday, August 17, 6:00 pm (note updated time):
Kirkland Hamill, author of Filthy Beasts
in conversation with Christina Clancy for a virtual event

Hamill discusses his debut memoir, the riches-to-rags tale of a wealthy family who lost it all and the unforgettable journey of a man coming to terms with his family’s deep flaws and his own long-buried truths. He’ll chat with Wisconsin’s Christina Clancy, author of The Second Home.  Broadcast via Zoom, you can register with this link for this virtual event. And purchase your copy of Filthy Beasts for 20% off list price from Boswell Book Company.

Following a rancorous split from New York’s upper-class society, Hamill’s newly divorced mother moves the family from their East Coast elite circle to her native Bermuda, leaving the three young boys to fend for themselves as she chases after the highs of her old life: alcohol, a wealthy new suitor, and other indulgences. A fascinating window into the life of extreme privilege and a powerful story of self-acceptance, Filthy Beasts recounts Hamill’s journey through luxury hotels and charity stores, private enclaves and public shame as he confronts his family’s many imperfections, accepts his unconventional childhood, and finally comes to terms with his own secrets.

In The New York Times Book Review, Jason Sheeler writes, "Hamill’s tragicomic memoir [is] about survival - and recovery: of his identity, memories and compassion for his mother... Wendy deserves placement in the gay canon, somewhere between Endora on ‘Bewitched’ and Jessica Lange in anything directed by Ryan Murphy." And Boswell Book Company's Chris Lee adds, "Hamill is that rare beast, a most generous kind of memoirist who opens up his entire world to you, without hedging or over-explanation, and trusts you to understand it. Particularly sensitive is Hamill’s writing about brotherhood and the childhood traumas which resulted from necessary self-preservation yet delayed his own self-discovery."

Kirkland Hamill has written for Salon and The Advocate, and was formerly the chief development and marketing officer at the National Center for Family Philanthropy. Christina Clancy is author of the novel The Second Home and her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Chicago Tribune. She earned a PhD in Creative Writing at UWM.

More info on the Boswell upcoming events page
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