| Vendor | |
|---|---|
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Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher |
| Original language | |
| English | |
| Categories | |
| Weblink | |
| http://courtneyangelabrkic.com/ | |
THE FIRST RULE OF SWIMMING
A woman must leave her home on a Croatian island to search for her missing sister and confront the haunted history of her family. THE FIRST RULE OF SWIMMING explores the secrets of war-torn Eastern Europe, uncovering the atrocities and family secrets hidden in a people's collective memory.
Magdalena and Jadranka are sisters born on the Croatian island of Rosamarina. Magdalena is content to stay on the island, recently recovered from the Croatian Bosnian war. Jadranka, a free spirit and restless is eager to leave to go to New York and explore a future as an artist with the help of family who had emigrated years ago.
When Magdalena learns that her younger sister has disappeared in New York, she does not immediately panic. Jadranka has always been prone to mysterious absences, even when she lived on the island. But when weeks pass with no word, Magdalena sets off to New York to find her sister. Her search begins to unspool the dark history of their family: from the grandparents who fought as partisans during WWII; to their children, forced to make devastating choices under the pall of the Soviet era; to the sisters at the center of the novel who carry the family's secrets in their blood.
THE FIRST RULE OF SWIMMING explores the legacy of betrayal and persecution in a place where beauty is fused with hardship, where nonconformity -especially by women- is stifled by cultural taboo, and where the lure of leaving is countered by the summons of family and home.
Courtney Angela Brkic is the author of "Stillness: And Other Stories" (FSG, 2003), named a Best Book by the Chicago Tribune, a Notable Book by the New York Times, and a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick. Her memoir "The Stone Fields" (FSG, 2004) was shortlisted for the Freedom of Expression Award by the Index on Censorship.
Brkic has been the recipient of a Whiting Writers' Award and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. She lives outside of Washington, DC, with her husband and son, and teaches in the MFA program at George Mason University.
When Magdalena learns that her younger sister has disappeared in New York, she does not immediately panic. Jadranka has always been prone to mysterious absences, even when she lived on the island. But when weeks pass with no word, Magdalena sets off to New York to find her sister. Her search begins to unspool the dark history of their family: from the grandparents who fought as partisans during WWII; to their children, forced to make devastating choices under the pall of the Soviet era; to the sisters at the center of the novel who carry the family's secrets in their blood.
THE FIRST RULE OF SWIMMING explores the legacy of betrayal and persecution in a place where beauty is fused with hardship, where nonconformity -especially by women- is stifled by cultural taboo, and where the lure of leaving is countered by the summons of family and home.
Courtney Angela Brkic is the author of "Stillness: And Other Stories" (FSG, 2003), named a Best Book by the Chicago Tribune, a Notable Book by the New York Times, and a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick. Her memoir "The Stone Fields" (FSG, 2004) was shortlisted for the Freedom of Expression Award by the Index on Censorship.
Brkic has been the recipient of a Whiting Writers' Award and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. She lives outside of Washington, DC, with her husband and son, and teaches in the MFA program at George Mason University.
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Book
Published 2013-05-01 by Little Brown |
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Book
Published 2013-05-01 by Little Brown |