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Liepman Literary Agency
Marc Koralnik |
| Original language | |
| English | |
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A BEAUTY
A seductive and dazzlingly original novel from Commonwealth Prizeshortlisted author Connie Gault, for readers of Alice Munro, Elizabeth Hay and Marina Endicott
In the drought-ridden days of the 1930s, eighteen-year-old Elena Huhtala finds herself living alone, a young Finnish woman in a small community of Swedes. Her mother has been dead for many years, her father, burdened by hardship, has disappeared, and she becomes an object of pity and fascination to her neighbours.
When a stranger shows up at a country dance, Elena takes up with him and leaves the village of Trevna behind. What follows is a journey in Bill Longmore's flashy Lincoln roadster, over gravel roads, surrounded by the dry, barren fields of Saskatchewan and the big, indifferent sky. As they pass through small prairie towns, with their wide, dusty streets and shabby hotel rooms, we meet an unforgettable group of locals, whose stories take us into their individual and surprising worlds. No one is unaware of Elena's enigmatic presence among them. At the centre, is the girl Ruth. Her chance encounter with Elena upends her life and creates an
unexpected, and unwanted, bond between them that haunts them both for decades. Distanced and apart, in their own ways, both search for what has been lost.
Written in luminous prose, threaded through with sardonic wit and deep wisdoms, A Beauty is at once poignant and razor-sharp, moving and mysterious, as it explores the meaning of home and belonging, the nature of forgiveness, and the ways of coming to love.
CONNIE GAULT is the author of three books of fiction. The most recent, Euphoria, was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Prize for Best Book (Canada and the Caribbean) 2010 and the High Plains Fiction Award 2010. It won the Saskatchewan Book Award for Fiction in 2010. She has won many awards for her short fiction and one of her stories was made into the feature length film, Solitude, for which she co-wrote the script with director Robin Schlat. She's also written several radio dramas and four published stage plays, which have been professionally produced across Canada. Her radio play, Sky, was broadcast on BBC World Service, and her stage play, Red Lips, was given a public reading at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. Connie lives in Regina and is at work on her next novel.
When a stranger shows up at a country dance, Elena takes up with him and leaves the village of Trevna behind. What follows is a journey in Bill Longmore's flashy Lincoln roadster, over gravel roads, surrounded by the dry, barren fields of Saskatchewan and the big, indifferent sky. As they pass through small prairie towns, with their wide, dusty streets and shabby hotel rooms, we meet an unforgettable group of locals, whose stories take us into their individual and surprising worlds. No one is unaware of Elena's enigmatic presence among them. At the centre, is the girl Ruth. Her chance encounter with Elena upends her life and creates an
unexpected, and unwanted, bond between them that haunts them both for decades. Distanced and apart, in their own ways, both search for what has been lost.
Written in luminous prose, threaded through with sardonic wit and deep wisdoms, A Beauty is at once poignant and razor-sharp, moving and mysterious, as it explores the meaning of home and belonging, the nature of forgiveness, and the ways of coming to love.
CONNIE GAULT is the author of three books of fiction. The most recent, Euphoria, was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Prize for Best Book (Canada and the Caribbean) 2010 and the High Plains Fiction Award 2010. It won the Saskatchewan Book Award for Fiction in 2010. She has won many awards for her short fiction and one of her stories was made into the feature length film, Solitude, for which she co-wrote the script with director Robin Schlat. She's also written several radio dramas and four published stage plays, which have been professionally produced across Canada. Her radio play, Sky, was broadcast on BBC World Service, and her stage play, Red Lips, was given a public reading at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. Connie lives in Regina and is at work on her next novel.
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Book
Published 2015-02-01 by McClelland & Stewart |