Tuesday 8 October 2013

BOOK OF THE DAY: The Answer to Your Question by Paulette Alden








BOOK DESCRIPTION
How well can you really know the people you love, even your own son? Four young women are murdered, and he's the suspect . . .

After raising her son, Ben, as a single parent, librarian Inga Daudelin is blindsided when he is accused of the murders of four young women. At the same time, Jean, a young, pregnant waif who seems both simple and wise, "imprints" on Inga at work, drawing her into an unusual friendship. When Ben kidnaps Jean, Inga and lead detective Ron O'Loughlin, with whom she is falling in love, search for the two, who along with Jean's baby, have formed a strange but human family.

"This wonderful novel is a success at every level--an engrossing thriller and a nuanced examination of love--written with artful directness. I loved every word and could not put it down." -- Scott Turow


AUTHOR BIO



Paulette Alden is the author of Feeding the Eagles, a short story collection (Graywolf Press), Crossing the Moon, a memoir (Penguin), and the newly released novel, The Answer to Your Question Her work has appeared in The New York Times MagazinePloughsharesStanford Magazine, the Antioch Review, the Mississippi Review, and others. A former Stegner Fellow at Stanford, she has taught memoir and fiction writing extensively, at Stanford, the University of Minnesota, Carleton College,  St. Olaf College, and at the Key West Literary Seminar.  In spring 2013 she will teach an online course for Stanford on Writing the Book-length Memoir.  She is the recipient of numerous awards, including a Bush Foundation Fellowship, a Loft-McKnight Award, and several Minnesota State Arts Board grants.  Originally from South Carolina, Alden lives in Minneapolis, where she blogs on books and writing and critiques literary manuscripts via her website, www.paulettealden.com.  


REVIEWS
Format:Kindle Edition
Bold and compelling - this is the heartfelt story of Inga & Jean, and how their lives became intertwined. This novel pulls the reader into the intense scrutiny of two characters' psyche. Each protagonist has a voice that grows stronger, as they each reach out for their own emotional survival. An intriguing tale, told with an original voice. Paulette Alden has done well to reveal the story of the two unfortunate souls who imprinted on each other while on the path of their own journeys. Both are confronted with unimaginable loss. Inga deals with her fate and choses life after mayhem. Jean, a simple woman, learns about the world and copes with the immeasurable heartache. Our humanity is often tested by tragedy. Questions arise... How we answer is the way we each define ourselves. Inga and Jean replied with decency and loyalty in this wonderful story. They asked the hard questions, and faced the answers. I highly recommend this book for all those who appreciate the human struggle and are not afraid to hear a voice seeking an answer to their question.

5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific novel January 25, 2013
Format:Kindle Edition
The answer to your question is: YES, do read this book! It's beautifully written in a clear, natural style. The suspenseful, surprising (& sometimes shocking) story is told by the two main characters -- middle-aged, middle-class Inga and teen-aged Jean, a country girl making her way alone in the absence of her soldier husband. These women are skillfully revealed through their distinctive voices. As they tell their stories, the reader comes to care for them and want to know what they'll do next and how events will unfold. Much of the dramatic action is driven by Inga's son Ben, the dark and dangerous force in the book. His threatening (serpent-like) presence and violent misdeeds place Inga and Jean in extreme situations that force them to ask painful questions and make hard choices. This novel successfully draws the reader into its mysterious world of darkness and light. Once you start reading, you won't want to put the book down. 


OTHER WORKS
Crossing the Moon 
Feeding the Eagles

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