Chicago Author Patrick Somerville (The Universe in Miniature In Miniature, 2010) will be celebrating the release of his second novel—he’s authored short story collections, too—This Bright River on Tuesday June, 26 at7pm at the Book Cellar. The release is a nice way to celebrate this local success in a local way at one of the city’s loveliest small book shops. As of June 30, Chicago Publishes will be going on a hiatus until further notice, so please come out and say hello!
This Bright River (Little, Brown) has already been lauded by critics, including Kirkus Review and Oprah.com, and describes the stories of two lives, each wracked with its own turbulent history, as they converge and transform. Ben and Lauren were momentary acquaintances in high school, working together on a science project, which carries a strange significance despite its brevity, for both of them. Their relationship as adults, as well as the ones they have with family and past lovers, drugs and violence, and with the small Wisconsin town in which they grew up are very much alive throughout the novel and drive the story forward. The book is about a lot of things, but apart from those concrete and engaging plot points, it’s about the act of telling, or not telling, another person your story.
Somerville will read from the novel and there will be a question and answer period at the end, presented by Gapers Block’s literary page, Book Club. There may also be opportunities for attendees to win free copies of the book.
As this will be our last event post for the foreseeable future, we hope you’ll check back in our archives to see the events we’ve covered in the past when developing your own programming or if you’re looking to get a sense of Chicago’s contemporary lit scene.
