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The nobodies album : a novel
Parkhurst, Carolyn
Adult Fiction PARKHUR
From Publishers' Weekly:
Parkhurst (The Dogs of Babel) returns with the story of Octavia Frost: widow, successful novelist, and estranged mother of Milo, lead singer of an up-and-coming band. Milo and Octavia haven't spoken in almost four years, but their separation ends when Octavia learns (from the Times Square news crawl) that Milo has been arrested for the murder of his girlfriend. In short order, Octavia travels to the West Coast, determined to find out who really killed Bettina Moffett. Octavia's quest is peppered with short excerpts from her novels-in original and revised form-though the bits and scraps sometimes come off as filler instead of metafictional excursions into stories Octavia revises for publication and for her own purposes. (Not insignificantly, Milo's band is called Pareidolia, after the human compulsion to see, for instance, the Virgin Mary on a piece of toast.) Parkhurst's voice sucks the reader in immediately-the gift of a real storyteller-but the mixed genre structure will turn off as many readers as it works for, and the mystery plot is thinner than it should be. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
From Library Journal:
The beautiful people face their personal demons in this truly novel novel about writing, motherhood, and second chances. Rock star Milo Frost stands accused of murdering his girlfriend. Olivia Frost drops everything, including her latest manuscript, to help clear her son's name. Words and deeds, however, prove more difficult to resolve in life than they do in Olivia's books. Parkhurst's brilliantly plotted chapters alternate between Olivia's attempts to solve the murder and excerpts from her novels, gradually revealing just how closely life and art can be connected. As the mystery unfolds, readers slowly come to understand the tragedy that precipitated Olivia's writing career and her subsequent estrangement from Milo. Fans of metafiction will enjoy the way Parkhurst gently pushes the envelope of story and questions the relationship between life and art. Mystery lovers, meanwhile, will savor the many twists and red herrings Parkhurst (The Dogs of Babel) lobs at them on the way to solving the crime. Verdict Like an indie band with crossover potential, Parkhurst's Album delivers the goods. Don't miss this one. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/15/10.]-Leigh Anne Vrabel, Carnegie Lib. of Pittsburgh (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Parkhurst, Carolyn
Adult Fiction PARKHUR
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From Publishers' Weekly:
Parkhurst (The Dogs of Babel) returns with the story of Octavia Frost: widow, successful novelist, and estranged mother of Milo, lead singer of an up-and-coming band. Milo and Octavia haven't spoken in almost four years, but their separation ends when Octavia learns (from the Times Square news crawl) that Milo has been arrested for the murder of his girlfriend. In short order, Octavia travels to the West Coast, determined to find out who really killed Bettina Moffett. Octavia's quest is peppered with short excerpts from her novels-in original and revised form-though the bits and scraps sometimes come off as filler instead of metafictional excursions into stories Octavia revises for publication and for her own purposes. (Not insignificantly, Milo's band is called Pareidolia, after the human compulsion to see, for instance, the Virgin Mary on a piece of toast.) Parkhurst's voice sucks the reader in immediately-the gift of a real storyteller-but the mixed genre structure will turn off as many readers as it works for, and the mystery plot is thinner than it should be. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
From Library Journal:
The beautiful people face their personal demons in this truly novel novel about writing, motherhood, and second chances. Rock star Milo Frost stands accused of murdering his girlfriend. Olivia Frost drops everything, including her latest manuscript, to help clear her son's name. Words and deeds, however, prove more difficult to resolve in life than they do in Olivia's books. Parkhurst's brilliantly plotted chapters alternate between Olivia's attempts to solve the murder and excerpts from her novels, gradually revealing just how closely life and art can be connected. As the mystery unfolds, readers slowly come to understand the tragedy that precipitated Olivia's writing career and her subsequent estrangement from Milo. Fans of metafiction will enjoy the way Parkhurst gently pushes the envelope of story and questions the relationship between life and art. Mystery lovers, meanwhile, will savor the many twists and red herrings Parkhurst (The Dogs of Babel) lobs at them on the way to solving the crime. Verdict Like an indie band with crossover potential, Parkhurst's Album delivers the goods. Don't miss this one. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/15/10.]-Leigh Anne Vrabel, Carnegie Lib. of Pittsburgh (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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