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Readers' rating:
Published May 2014
256 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
Anna Brundage is a rock star. She is tall and sexy, with a powerhouse voice and an unforgettable mane of red hair. She came out of nowhere, an immediate indie sensation. And then, life happened.
Anna went down as fast as she went up, and then walked off the scene for seven years. Without a record deal or clamoring fans, she sells a piece of her famous father's art to finance just one more album and a European comeback tour.
Anna is forty-four. This may be her last chance to cement her place in the life she chose, the life she struggled for, the life she's not sure she can sustain. She falls back easily into the ways of the road - sex with strangers, the search for the perfect moment onstage. To see Anna perform is something - watch her find the note, the electric connection with the audience, the transcendence when it all comes together and the music seems to fill the world.
A riveting look at the life of a musician, Wonderland is a moving inquiry into the life of a woman on an unconventional path, wondering what happens next and what her passions might have cost her, seeking a version of herself she might recognize. It takes us deep into a world many of us have spent hours imagining and wishing ourselves into - now we have a bit of that wish come true.
"Starred Review. A story of second chances, D'Erasmo has meticulously crafted a work that, with the exception of a small lull midnovel, constantly builds, yet often feels incredibly casual." - Publishers Weekly
"The rock-star lifestyle, with its drugs, troubled relationships, and whirlwind tours, has been penned many times; while Wonderland is well written, it serves as just another example." - Library Journal
"A better-than-average rock novel that thoughtfully addresses aging, art and relationships." - Kirkus
"D'Erasmo's prose is lyrical and alive - this is a vital, powerful novel - and Wonderland will strike a chord with anyone who's ever dreamed of getting a second chance." - Elliott Holt, author of You Are One of Them
"Wonderland's insight into how a woman inhabits, feeds, and sometimes undoes her own artistry is rare and profound." - Ann Powers, music critic, co-author of Piece by Piece (with Tori Amos), and author of Weird Like Us: My Bohemian America
"The world of Wonderland is authentic, vibrant, and genuine. Stacey D'Erasmo explores the delight and terror of second chances. A great read!" - Michael Stipe
"Wonderland is a witty and unflinching novel about life, love, art and sound checks. A deep howl and a bittersweet song, this is D'Erasmo's best yet." - Sam Lipsyte, author of The Ask, Home Land, and others
This information about Wonderland 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.
Stacey D'Erasmo is a recipient of Guggenheim and Stegner Fellowships, the author of three previous novels and a book of nonfiction, The Art of Intimacy. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times (Magazine and Book Review), Bookforum, and Ploughshares, among others. She teaches in Columbia University's MFA program.
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