Overview

Readers first meet Simone Lerrante, a Belgian war orphan, as a child refugee in Sussex, England, her memory damaged by trauma. The novel offers a kaleidoscopic vision of Simone's fractured life and piecemeal understanding of self across multiple points of view. Following her from Cambridge to New York City and across the United States - through a disastrous marriage, thwarted desire, and the purgatory of academic backwaters - the novel charts Simone's unexpected reconnection with her past, which provides both autonomy and inspiration for her future. In the vein of Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge, Janet Burroway slowly reveals a multifaceted, fascinating protagonist, who observes her own life without always allowing herself to be immersed in it. Spanning seven decades, this story is both epic and contained, rewarding readers at every turn.

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9780299353841

Table of Contents

Reviews

""Brilliant in conception and dazzlingly adept in its technical execution, Simone in Pieces proves once again that Burroway is a national treasure. She is at the height of her prodigious powers, exploring the great and enduring theme of literary art: the yearning for a self, for an identity, for a place in the universe. This is a must read."" - Robert Olen Butler, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain ""In this brilliantly structured novel, Burroway presents the life of her heroine through the eyes of characters who come irresistibly to life and in turn bring Simone to life. Burroway writes with virtuosic authority about a life spanning more than sixty years the result is both compelling and deeply satisfying. I would have followed Simone anywhere."" - Margot Livesey, author of The Road from Belhaven ""This book is stupendous. I loved it so, so much. An assemblage, fragments that bring vividly to life a woman, an era, a world - or rather many worlds - this book is a marvel and a delight."" - Ayelet Waldman, author of Love and Treasure ""If there were such a thing as a cubist novel, Simone in Pieces would define the genre. Every chapter captures the woman at its center from a different angle, each a dazzling surprise. Burroway has found a brilliant way to portray a woman in search of herself and her dire history, lost and found many times over."" - Rosellen Brown, author of Before and After ""A capacious novel. For more than sixty years, Simone navigates her career and relationships, working through traumas and fragmented memory, and strives for self-realization during a precarious time for a woman academic. Moving, courageous, and thought provoking, Simone's quest is both a love story and a triumph over her childhood tragedies."" - Yang Huang, author of My Good Son

Author Information

Janet Burroway is the author of Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft, the most widely used fiction writing text in America. She has also written eight previous novels, most recently Bridge of Sand, as well as a memoir, plays, short fiction, children’s books, and more. Recipient of the Florida Humanities Council’s 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award in Writing, she is a distinguished professor emerita at Florida State University at Tallahassee.

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