Description:
Forced to teach a community writing class, cantankerous recluse Claire Maguire finds meaning and connection in the unlikeliest of places: other people.
Brief description: A native of the Chicago area, Dave Boling is a journalist in Washington state. His first novel, Guernica, was published in fifteen territories and thirteen languages, with an English-language edition sold worldwide. It won the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association award for fiction for 2009 and was a Barnes & Noble "Discover Great New Writers" selection. Waterstones (UK) selected it as one of twelve "New Voices" novels for 2009. Also in the UK, it was selected as one of Richard and Judy's Summer Reads of 2009. It was voted the favorite of the eight summer read selections in a poll of readers and viewers. His second novel, The Lost History of Stars (titled The Undesirables in the UK), was an Amazon Editors' Pick. His collaboration with Curt and Ana Warner, The Warner Boys, was an Amazon First Reads selection and an Editors' Pick.
Review Quotes:
"I absolutely loved it. It's quirky and wonderful, with great characters and a touching tale of rebirth-all contributing to the sheer glory of this book."
-Elizabeth George, New York Times bestselling author of the Lynley crime novels
"... beautifully written and compelling ... full of humor and heartbreak. A celebration of fine literature, it's full of surprises. ... Claire, a self-isolating one-time writing teacher, and Wil, a retired logger and Vietnam vet, are vivid, deeply human characters you'll fall in love with. Both have their secrets and scars, and both deserve a second chance. You'll find yourself turning the pages and rooting for these two."
-Kevin O'Brien, New York Times bestselling author of Everyone a Stranger and Unspeakable