| Author: | Mary Marcus | ISBN: | 9781943486106 |
| Publisher: | Fiction Studio Books | Publication: | April 24, 2015 |
| Imprint: | Language: | English |
| Author: | Mary Marcus |
| ISBN: | 9781943486106 |
| Publisher: | Fiction Studio Books |
| Publication: | April 24, 2015 |
| Imprint: | |
| Language: | English |
"Marcus (The New Me) has written a novel of weight and heart. Forthright in chronicling harrowing conditions of the era and Southern setting while not succumbing to stereotypes, she reveals the complexities of humanity and demonstrates a keen ear for the music of language in the individual voices of her characters. Lovers of The Help and civil rights–era literary fiction will enjoy this book." – Library Journal
"Thoughtful fiction that once again exposes the dark enigma of America's racist past and present." - Kirkus
“Marcus’ well-crafted, highly accessible novel can readily be compared to The Help, by Kathryn Stockett(2009), for its recognition of the lot of black domestic servants. However, there is one major difference, and that is the way Marcus writes about the creative impulse. Billy Ray’s descriptions of his music making are both wondrous and joyful.” — Booklist
"Lavina is one of the best books I've read in a long time. Mary Marcus gives distinctive voice to three engaging characters, bringing our compassion and sympathy to each of them as she deftly unravels their complex story of heartache, courage, and love." – Diane Chamberlain, international bestselling author of Necessary Lies
Mary Jacob grew up as an anomaly. A child of Louisiana in the early sixties, she found little in common with most of the people in her community and in her household, and her best friend was Lavina, the black woman who cooked and cleaned for her family.
Billy Ray had an incredible gift he kept to himself. Alone except for his mother Lavina in the racially segregated and tense early ’60s, Billy Ray constantly dreamed up ways he could get his mother out of the big white house where she cooked and cleaned. Especially away from the white girl who he imagined his mother loved more than she loved him.
Mary Jacob escaped her history and established a fresh, if imperfect, life for herself in New York. Billy Ray chased fame, and came up a broken musician grasping for small gigs. When both are called back to their hometown, Mary Jacob and Billy Ray discover truths about the past they’ve spent a lifetime forgetting – about the lives they left behind, and about a fateful day three decades earlier when three lives changed forever.
A generation-spanning story both intimate and enormous in scope, LAVINA is a novel rich in humanity, sharp in its indictments, and stunning in its resolution.
"Marcus (The New Me) has written a novel of weight and heart. Forthright in chronicling harrowing conditions of the era and Southern setting while not succumbing to stereotypes, she reveals the complexities of humanity and demonstrates a keen ear for the music of language in the individual voices of her characters. Lovers of The Help and civil rights–era literary fiction will enjoy this book." – Library Journal
"Thoughtful fiction that once again exposes the dark enigma of America's racist past and present." - Kirkus
“Marcus’ well-crafted, highly accessible novel can readily be compared to The Help, by Kathryn Stockett(2009), for its recognition of the lot of black domestic servants. However, there is one major difference, and that is the way Marcus writes about the creative impulse. Billy Ray’s descriptions of his music making are both wondrous and joyful.” — Booklist
"Lavina is one of the best books I've read in a long time. Mary Marcus gives distinctive voice to three engaging characters, bringing our compassion and sympathy to each of them as she deftly unravels their complex story of heartache, courage, and love." – Diane Chamberlain, international bestselling author of Necessary Lies
Mary Jacob grew up as an anomaly. A child of Louisiana in the early sixties, she found little in common with most of the people in her community and in her household, and her best friend was Lavina, the black woman who cooked and cleaned for her family.
Billy Ray had an incredible gift he kept to himself. Alone except for his mother Lavina in the racially segregated and tense early ’60s, Billy Ray constantly dreamed up ways he could get his mother out of the big white house where she cooked and cleaned. Especially away from the white girl who he imagined his mother loved more than she loved him.
Mary Jacob escaped her history and established a fresh, if imperfect, life for herself in New York. Billy Ray chased fame, and came up a broken musician grasping for small gigs. When both are called back to their hometown, Mary Jacob and Billy Ray discover truths about the past they’ve spent a lifetime forgetting – about the lives they left behind, and about a fateful day three decades earlier when three lives changed forever.
A generation-spanning story both intimate and enormous in scope, LAVINA is a novel rich in humanity, sharp in its indictments, and stunning in its resolution.
