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Published Aug 2022
352 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
The deeply moving, propulsive story of ten teenagers brought together by a high school production of The Diary of Anne Frank that will shape and influence the rest of their lives.
Evanston, Illinois, 1982. A group of students at a magnet high school meet to audition for the spring play. They are eager for the chance to escape their difficult everyday lives. Declan, an experienced senior, is confident he'll get his first--choice role, but when the capricious, charismatic drama director casts Franklin, an unknown underclassman--and the two are seen alone at the director's house-a series of events that will haunt the cast for years begins to unfold.
2016. The actors have moved on with their lives. Some are wildly successful, some never left their hometown, and some just want to be left alone. Everything changes, however, when one former cast member comes forward with an allegation dating back to the time of the play. The consequences of this public revelation will be far-reaching and complex, reverberating through all of their lives in unexpected ways.
Cyclorama is a deeply compelling story of ordinary people that brilliantly cuts to the core of what makes us who we are and how our pasts reverberate into our present and future. With remarkable tenderness and humanity, Langer reveals how the traumas of our youth continue to echo throughout our lives, in our politics, in our careers, and in ourselves.
"Langer brilliantly braids 1980s America with the Trump era in his inventive latest...The novel handles...abuses of power in thrilling and unexpected ways, but even more captivating is how Langer uses the story of Anne Frank to magnify cultural, political, and personal conflicts...Readers will applaud Langer's outstanding performance." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Funny...Deeply moving...Langer's novel reveals how the past echoes through the present and continues to shape our futures." - BookPage (starred review)
"The drama of the second half of the novel recalls the persecution and victimization that led to Anne's tragic end and raises the novel's overarching question: What responsibility does each of us have to one another? A somber warning about the insidious consequences of hatred." - Kirkus Reviews
"With families doting and dysfunctional, teens aspiring and despairing, and Anne Frank's story mirroring current humanitarian crises, Langer's cycloramic tale of dirty tricks, moral reasoning, and learning to love is smart, captivating, funny, appalling, and tender." - Booklist
"I tore through Adam Langer's Cyclorama in a weekend. It's compelling, heartfelt, has immaculate pacing, and the characters feel real and important. Truly a rewarding reading experience." - Jami Attenberg, author of All This Could Be Yours
"In its evocation of Chicago in the 1980s, and in its understanding of how the past forever hangs over us-culturally, politically, and personally-Cyclorama is both astute and winning. Adam Langer writes about a vast array of characters, every one of whom comes remarkably to life. This is a dazzlingly good book." - Joshua Henkin, author of Morningside Heights
"Adam Langer is that rare combination of a writer. He has a sharp eye to details and explores human relations with keen insight and wry humor, and at the same time shows profound compassion to our fragile existences and longings." - Elif Shafak, author of The Island of Missing Trees
This information about Cyclorama was first featured
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Born and raised in Chicago, Adam Langer is the author of the novels Crossing California, The Washington Story, Ellington Boulevard, and The Thieves of Manhattan, and the memoir My Father's Bonus March. His has written about books and authors for such publications as the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, the Huffington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Washington Post, among others. He has been a frequent radio and TV guest, including appearances on CNN, Fox, and NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered. The Chicago Public Library recently purchased a significant collection of his papers. He is the former senior editor of Book Magazine and currently serves as the arts and culture editor of the Jewish Daily Forward. Langer lives in New York City with...
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