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by Carolyn Kuebler
A vivid and moving portrayal of the intricate web of relations and fate in a small New England town, told with interlocking storylines in a unique and mesmerizing voice of uncommon power in this debut novel.
May has arrived 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.
Told in a vivid style of complete distinction, the novel has a magic and a momentum all its own, giving a look into the aching, silent heart of America.
"Kuebler's skillful, minimalist prose carries this small-town story from tranquil beginning to perilous end. An intricate, slow-burning patchwork of a debut novel." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Kuebler's prose is visual, astute, and rich. Family drama, mystery, and subtle foreshadowing carry readers headlong to the conclusion. A novel for readers who relish a sense of place, quirky characters, and intertwined stories ... Featuring many teen characters, this will be of interest for its coming-of-age topics, including friend groups, parental control, and romance." —Booklist
"Told through interlocking narratives, this poignant debut novel captures a year in the life of a small Vermont town—but don't let the pastoral locale fool you; this book is anything but sleepy. Moving effortlessly from the steamy to the heartbreaking, the novel handles themes such as poverty, first love, drug abuse, unplanned pregnancy, and lust with refreshing nuance." —Oprah Daily
"I've spent my life in towns like this, and so so much rings true—hard, sweet, right." —Bill McKibben, author Radio Free Vermont
"Kuebler deftly weaves multiple perspectives into a tapestry showing one bittersweet year in the collective life of a small northeastern town. Her wonderful characters, beautiful landscapes, and portrait of rural life will stay with me." —Lydia Kiesling, author of Mobility
"Carolyn Kuebler's superb ensemble narrative features post office clerks and recluses, yearning teens and missionary parents, budding criminals and trusts funders who all inhabit a beautiful, struggling Vermont town. When the plot sets a romance and disappearance into motion, someone is to blame, but who? Part of Kuebler's magic is that she offers no easy answers to this question, and leaves you pondering instead what will happen to these people, and what it takes for our rural communities to thrive and endure." —Maria Hummel, author of Goldenseal
This information about Liquid, Fragile, Perishable was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Carolyn Kuebler was a co-founder of the literary journal Rain Taxi and is now the editor of the award-winning New England Review. Her stories and essays have been published in The Common and Colorado Review, among others, and "Wildflower Season," published in The Massachusetts Review, won the 2022 John Burroughs Award for Nature Essays. She lives in Middlebury, Vermont, where she enjoys bird-watching and cross-country skiing. Liquid, Fragile, Perishable is her first novel.
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