Half-Life of a Secret explores a family’s secrets and a nation’s silence
In Half-Life of a Secret, Emily Strasser tells the story of her grandfather, a chemist for Oak Ridge’s World War II Manhattan Project, and how family secrets intersect with national ones.
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Tom Piazza’s new novel imagines an 1883 meeting of writers hoping to redefine America
In Tom Piazza’s novel The Auburn Conference, an idealistic scholar arranges a meeting of famous writers in 1883 to debate the meaning of America. Piazza will discuss the book at Burke’s Book Store in Memphis on May 11.
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Tom Hanks delivers a sprawling, genre-bending tale
Academy Award-winning actor Tom Hanks has penned a stunning debut novel with a mouthful of a title: The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece. Hanks will discuss the book before a sold-out crowd at Montgomery Bell Academy on May 11.
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Abraham Verghese’s The Covenant of Water braids stories over generations
Abraham Verghese mines the history of Kerala’s St. Thomas Christians — and larger debates about faith and science — in his sprawling second novel, The Covenant of Water. Verghese will discuss the book at a ticketed event at Parnassus Books in Nashville on May 18.
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Lorrie Moore’s See What Can Be Done is a window into a lively mind
FROM THE CHAPTER 16 ARCHIVE: “Pick a thing up, study it, shake it, skip it across a still surface to see how much felt and lively life got baked into it,” writes Lorrie Moore in her collection, See What Can Be Done: Essays, Criticism, and Commentary.
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Alan Gratz enters the Marvel Universe with Captain America: The Ghost Army
Captain America’s legacy creates high expectations. Writers who tell the story of the iconic superhero must respect over 80 years of comic book history, and Alan Gratz, known for his award-winning novels for young readers, rises to the challenge with Captain America: The Ghost Army.
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