The Last Rose of Summer - Rilegato

Schulz, Monte

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 1606994018 ISBN 13: 9781606994016

Casa editrice: Fantagraphics Books, 2011

Riassunto

In the summer of 1929, three strong-willed women, related by marriage,gather under one roof: widowed matriarch Maude Hennesey, whose belief inold-fashioned ways is shared by the ladies of her club; her pretty, spoiled daughterRachel; and daughter-in-law Marie, who’s been forced by her husband,Harry, to uproot their two small children and take up residence in his family’sEast Texan home until economic circumstances improve.Monte Schulz, son of celebrated Peanuts cartoonist Charles Schulz, examinesnot only the conflicts within the family, but the racial, gender and religioustensions of small-town Bellemont. As the summer wears on, Maude firmly lecturesthe unwelcome Marie on class distinctions, Rachel fights and flirts with herdashing pilot beau CW, and Marie reevaluates her marriage to salesman Harryduring their separation, while fending off her employer Jimmy Delahaye’s slow seduction.

Meanwhile, storms gather as a child’s unnatural death sends shock waves throughout the community, instilling a senseof dread in both the reader and Marie, who’s already lost her firstborn to tragedy. Things come to a head when a blackwar hero, Julius, is accused of murder: surprising truths about these three women are revealed. In the calm after thestorm, each woman learns to live her life on her own terms.

Schulz’ dynamic female characters, though accessible to a wide audience, have particular appeal for women. Schulzunderstands that readers find it refreshing when authors flesh out their protagonists by examining who they are throughthe prism of familial interactions, not just romantic relationships. Contemporary readers can identify with many of theissues that wife and parent Marie struggles with in The Last Rose of Summer, even though (and, perhaps, because) it concludesjust as the Jazz Age is poised to shift into the Great Depression.
Praise for Schulz’s previous book, This Side of Jordan:
“Monte Schulz’s novel This Side of Jordan shows that like father like son — both superb!”—Ray Bradbury

"Beautifully written and thoroughly researched, a veritable time-machine that whirled methrough time to the dirty back roads of the American Midwest in the year before the Depression.Did I mention how good the writing is? The writing is excellent... This book is a masterpiece ofsetting and storytelling.”—Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing

“[T]hose who savor authentic details of a bygone era will be rapt by Schulz’s delightful displaysof staccato, wise-guy diction (‘Say, hatchet face, what’s the dope?’) and his cascading sheets ofperiod description that set the scenes. Hand this straight-faced and multifaceted almost-satireto fans of the Southern Gothic tradition, all the way from Flannery O’Connor to John Kennedy Toole.”—Ian Chipman, Booklist

Su questo libro

L'autore

Monte Schufz published his first novel, Down By The River, in 1990, and spent the next twelve years writing a tapestry of the Jazz Age, of which The Last Rose of Summer and 2009's This Side of Jordan are two of three parts. He lives in California.

Product Description

Book by Schulz Monte

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Fantagraphics Books
• Data di pubblicazione: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1606994018
• ISBN 13: 9781606994016
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero edizione: 1
• Numero di pagine: 331