Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Sep 2011
224 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
Jesse Browner's dazzling new novel records a single day in the life of Wes, a seventeen-year-old who attends Manhattan's elite Dalton School and lives in Greenwich Village in a dilapidated town house with his terminally ill mother, distant father and beloved younger sister. In the course of one day everything will happen to Wes: he will lose his virginity to the wrong girl and break his own heart, try to meet a Monday morning deadline for a paper on War and Peace, and prepare an elaborate supper he hopes will reunite his family. Wes struggles through the day deep in thoughts of sex, love, Beatles lyrics, friendship, God and French cuisine - a typical teenager with an atypical mind, a memorable young man who comes to the poignant understanding of how fragile but attainable personal happiness can be.
Everything Happens Today is funny, moving, generous and exhilarating. With a classic structure that nods, inevitably, to Mrs. Dalloway and characters worthy of comparison to those created by J.D. Salinger, Everything Happens Today will enchant young adults who see themselves in the story as well as adult readers who will be captured by the deeply sympathetic characters and the acute feel for the way we live now. Most readers will want it never to be over.
"Thankfully, Browner avoids a saccharine resolution, opting instead to let Wes's struggles work as a meditation on life, love, and disappointment." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. Browner... has crafted a stupendous, thought-provoking, devilishly delicious novel that reads like Zen Koan meets Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man with some modern "english" that sets the plate spinning. Highly recommended." - Library Journal
"A light, modern and keen look at the discord between whimsy and prudence." - Kirkus Reviews
"[T]here are no chapter breaks, which makes for an occasionally claustrophobic reading experience. On the other hand, the novel does capture Wes' stream-of-consciousness and the river of events that flows through his day. This will be catnip to readers interested in critical thinking and epistemology but slow going for most others." - Booklist
This information about Everything Happens Today 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.
Jesse Browner is the author of four books including the novels Conglomeros, Turnaway, and The Uncertain Hour. He has also translated a number of notable books including the award winning Celine: A Biography. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and two daughters. Find him online at www.jessebrowner.com.
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