Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Cold Comfort

Tim Gautreaux’s new story collection draws tentative hope out of modern malaise

Tim Gautreaux’s wide-ranging new collection, Signals, expertly examines a variety of broken lives, speaking plainly of suffering but also offering glimpses of hope and redemption. He will discuss Signals at Union Ave. Books in Knoxville on January 19, and at Parnassus Books in Nashville on February 1.

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Growing Up in Silence and Shame

Tayari Jones talks with Chapter 16 about the bigamous marriages at the heart of her acclaimed novel, Silver Sparrow

In Silver Sparrow, the third novel by Tayari Jones, two girls born four months apart share a father who is secretly married to both of their mothers. Jones will read Silver Sparrow at the Camp House in Chattanooga on January 19 at 6 p.m. The event, part of Chattanooga State Community Colleges Writers@Work initiative, is free and open to the public.

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Love and Money in Wartime

Lydia Peelle’s debut novel, The Midnight Cool, is a tale of two Tennessee horse traders during World War I

In Lydia Peelle’s debut novel, The Midnight Cool, a pair of itinerant horse traders is drawn into a web of mystery, love, and opportunity as WWI throws the country into turmoil. Peelle will read from the book at The Booksellers at Laurelwood in Memphis on January 16, Parnassus Books in Nashville on January 21, and at Union Ave. Books in Knoxville on February 10. At each event, Peelle’s husband, Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show, will perform music from the era.

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An Artificial Village

Book excerpt: Perfect Little World

Kevin Wilson’s second novel, Perfect Little World, will be released on January 24, and he will give readings from it at The Booksellers at Laurelwood in Memphis on January 24 and Parnassus Books in Nashville on January 26. In this excerpt, Dr. Preston Grind meets a wealthy benefactor with an idea for a research experiment to prove the truth of the old adage that it takes a village to raise a child.

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The Prettiest Horse Ever Drew Breath

Book excerpt: The Midnight Cool

Nashville writer Lydia Peelle will launch her first novel, The Midnight Cool, on a book tour beginning January 6 at Parnassus Books in Nashville and continuing with stops in Memphis (at The Booksellers at Laurelwood on January 16) and Knoxville (at Union Ave. Books on February 10). At each event, Peelle’s husband, Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show, will perform music from the World War I era, in which the book is set. Today Chapter 16 presents an excerpt from The Midnight Cool.

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The Skinless Horse

Michael Chabon’s Moonglow is the death-bed memoir of a fictional Jewish scientist

moonglowIn Michael Chabon’s new novel, Moonglow, a dying man summons his grandson and reveals his life story, including picaresque adventure, tragic romance, and stellar ambition—and the lingering psycho-social damage inflicted by the Holocaust. Chabon will discuss Moonglow at the Nashville Public Library on December 4 at 3 p.m.

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