It is May in the tiny hamlet of Glenville, Vermont, bringing with it currents of rejuvenation and rebirth. For 3 families, though, the year ahead will prove to be a roller coaster of life-changing events, promises, and tragedies.
Liquid, Fragile, Perishable unspools via a chorus of unforgettable voices: an old-school Christian beekeeping family and newly transplanted New Yorkers; a trio of teenage girls and a deeply rooted family of ne'er-do-wells; and one woman who just wants to live alone in the woods. The shifting set of relations among the citizens of this community encompasses teenage pregnancy, drug abuse, poverty-and a cavalcade of thwarted dreams, young love in bloom, and poignant missed connections.
This powerful debut is a subtle and beautiful story about the interlocking relationships among the residents of a small town out of Sherwood Anderson or Thornton Wilder-but with a very contemporary set of problems ... By turns sexy, shocking, and wistful, this coruscating debut conveys the hopes, the sadness, and the secrets of a whole great world.
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The island loomed ahead, gray and somehow menacing - not how she always thought of it.CHAPTER ONE, ANGELA AND KIKI, Angela, May 1998
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(Melville House, 7 May 2024, e-galley, 352 pages, ARC from the publisher via Edelweiss)
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Liquid, Fragile, Perishable is an impressive debut. I decided to read it because I loved the title and the blurb made this book sound like something I'd enjoy. I'm glad I read this book. I can't wait to see what the author comes up with next. I loved the setting, a small rural town, my favourite kind of place for a book to be set, there's so much more potential than a big city. The book tackles a range of powerful themes including poverty, heartache, first love and drug abuse, almost effortlessly. I'm a little in awe. This is compelling stuff. I loved it and would recommend it.
