Maya Lang

The Sixteenth of June Maya Lang

Publisher Marketing: A finely observed, wry social satire set in Philadelphia over the course of a single day, this soaring debut novel paints a moving portrait of a family at a turning point. Leopold Portman, a young IT manager a few years out of college, dreams of settling down in Philly s bucolic suburbs and starting a family with his fiancee, Nora. A talented singer in mourning for her mother, Nora has abandoned a promising opera career and wonders what her destiny holds. Her best friend, Stephen, Leopold s brother, dithers in his seventh year of graduate school and privately questions Leo and Nora s relationship. On June 16, 2004, the three are brought together first for a funeral, then for an annual Bloomsday party. As the long-simmering tensions between them come to a head, they are forced to confront the choices of their pasts and their hopes for the future. Clever, lyrical, and often hilarious, "The Sixteenth of June" is a feat of storytelling and a sharp depiction of modern American family life. It delves into the tensions and allegiances of friendships, the murky uncertainty of early adulthood, and the yearning to belong. This remarkable novel offers a nod to James Joyce's celebrated classic, "Ulysses," and it is about the secrets we keep and the lengths we ll go to for acceptance and love." Review Citations: Audio File 04/01/2015 pg. 41 (EAN 9781491523155, Compact Disc) Booklist 05/01/2014 pg. 81 (EAN 9781476745787, Open Ebook) Publishers Weekly 04/28/2014 (EAN 9781476745749, Hardcover) Booklist 05/01/2014 pg. 81 (EAN 9781476745749, Hardcover) Kirkus Reviews 05/01/2014 (EAN 9781476745749, Hardcover) Shelf Awareness 06/17/2014 (EAN 9781476745749, Hardcover) Contributor Bio:  Lang, Maya Maya Lang is the first-generation daughter of Indian immigrants. She was awarded the 2012 Bread Loaf Rona Jaffe Foundation Scholarship in Fiction and was a finalist for Glimmer Train s Short Story Award for New Writers. She holds a PhD in comparative literature and lives in New York with her husband and daughter. Contributor Bio:  Whelan, Julia Earphones Award winner Julia Whelan grew up in the Pacific Northwest, but currently resides in Los Angeles. She is a former child actor, having appeared in multiple television shows, most notably ABC's "Once and Again." After receiving her college degree, she returned to acting and is pursuing a career in the film industry, as well as creative writing. Her audiobook credits include romance, supernatural thrillers, young adult and adult fiction. Contributor Bio:  Damron, Will Will Damron is an audiobook narrator whose readings include Christian Cantrell s "Kingmaker" and Ben Lieberman s "Odd Jobs". Contributor Bio:  Andrews, MacLeod MacLeod Andrews is an actor, voice actor, and audiobook narrator. The narrator of more than one hundred audiobooks, he is a company member of Rising Phoenix Repertory in Los Angeles.