Monday, November 23
8:00 PM
Wien Lounge (411 W. 116th Street, between Amsterdam and Morningside Drive)
Columbia School of the Arts Writing Chair Binnie Kirshenbaum will read from and discuss The Scenic Route, her latest novel. Kirshenbaum is the author of two short story collections and five other novels, including An Almost Perfect Moment and Hester Among the Ruins, both Chicago Tribune Favorite Books of the Year. She is a two-time recipient of the Critics Choice Award and was selected by Granta Magazine as one of the Best Young American Novelists.
You must RSVP here by Wednesday, November 4th to attend. All who RSVP will receive a free copy ofThe Scenic Route, and must pick up the novel from the Writers House (second floor of Wien) before the event (date TBA). Participants are highly encouraged to read most, if not all, of the book in order to fully engage in the discussion.
Please note that spots are limited, so RSVP as soon as you can!
This event is sponsored by 114 Rue de Fleurus: The Writers House. Please contact114ruedefleurus@gmail.com with any questions.
Description of The Scenic Route:
Divorced, alone, and unexpectedly unemployed, Sylvia Landsman flees to Italy, where she meets Henry, a wistful, married, middle-aged expatriate. Taking off on a grand tour of Europe bankrolled with his wife’s money, Henry and Sylvia follow a circuitous route around the continent—as Sylvia entertains Henry with stories of her peculiar family and her damaged friends, of dead ducks and Alma Mahler. Her narrative is a tapestry of remembrances, regrets and her secret shame: a small, cowardly sin of omission. Yet when the opportunity arises for Sylvia and Henry to do something small but brave, the refrain “if only” returns to haunt her, leaving Sylvia with one more story of love lived and lost.
Praise for The Scenic Route and Binnie Kirshenbaum:
“An idiosyncratic and totally winning ‘romance,’ in which sentiment and cynicism are poised in a most virtuoso performance.” –Joyce Carol Oates
“This is first-rate writing by a novelist who gracefully defies classification.” –Richard Ford
“A tremendous talent. Her novels are sexy, intelligent, complex, and provocative; they press against your heart the way old lovers do.” –Junot Diaz
