Jones, author of particles and luck stephanie kegans golden state signals the arrival of an exciting new voice in contemporary american. Golden state is a target emerging authors selection and a booksamillion book club pick. In the golden state, lydia kiesling brings motherhood to the. Winters has won major awards in both the mystery and speculativefiction genres. Doctor julie walker has just signed her divorce papers when she receives news that her younger sister, heather, has gone into labor. Like the year of fog, it is a pageturner with a philosophical bent. Winterss new novel golden state unfolds in such a place, an alternatefuture california where the preservation of realitys integrity is the paramount duty of the good.
Golden state is a closed place created when the spreading of lies became so widespread that the former society could no longer exist. While i enjoyed golden state, i wouldnt compare it to we need to talk about kevin by lionel shriver. A fifthgeneration californian and the youngest of three children, natalie enjoys an idyllic view of her past and a happy present as a wife, mother, and teacher. The golden state warriors were well on their way to the wests top seed, and a fifth consecutive trip to the nba finals. But when a man falls from a roof in suspicious circumstances, it. It is both a literary thriller and a meditation on marriage, love, and loyalty.
A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. A debut novel reveals a mythic literary form as perhaps a masculine fantasy that weve been asked to idealize for too long. In a society where adherence to the objectively so is the primary goal, the crime of telling a lie can lead to lengthy imprisonment or even exile, a fate assumed to be equivalent to death. Winters comes a mindbending novel set in a world governed by absolute truth, where lies are as dangerous as murder. Kiff vandenheuvel from awardwinning, new york times bestselling novelist ben h. Golden state is an ambitious and frighteningly timely novel set in a world where everything is recorded and no one can be trusted. Michelle mcnamara died pursuing the golden state killer. In golden state i wanted to delve deeper into the emotional. What makes golden state particularly interesting, though, is the way winters is using it to comment on and respond to the modern world so directly. Laz ratesic is a veteran of the state s special police. The golden gate is a novel written by the scottish author alistair maclean. Golden state sweeps you up, whisks you away and doesnt let you go till the very end.
Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors. But if it is a flaneur novel, it represents a step forward for the genre. Michelle richmond after signing her divorce papers, dr. The golden state is a novel of sparse landscape and deep emotion. Golden state takes place in a futuristic society that values truth above all else. Julie walker receives news that her younger sister, heather, has gone into labor, and sets out to be at her side no easy task since the streets of san. As a consequence, a sympathetic readers imaginings may persist long after the books. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Golden state is science fiction at its finest, a propulsive narrative filled with complex ideas that are expressed by engaging characters who occupy a rich and detailed world.
The author devoted years to identifying the golden state killer, but she didnt live to see the arrest of a suspect, or her book about the cold case published. In lydia kieslings razorsharp debut novel, the golden state, we accompany daphne, a young mother on the edge of a breakdown, as she flees her sensible but strained life in san francisco for the high desert of altavista with her toddler, honey. The golden state by lydia kiesling is a terrific, smart, short novel with wit, psychological depth, and a firstperson narratrix in whose head one comes to enjoy being trapped. In the golden state, knowingly contradicting the truth is the greatest crime. The novel golden state takes readers on a journey over the course of a single, unforgettable day. Both the title of the book and the locale bear the name golden state, a nation that occupies portions of presentday california.
A big, rollicking adventure of a novel, overflowing with the kind of intense, fractal consciousness life with small children entails, the world at once collapsed and expanded infinitely, in which whole lifetimes are contained in each and every single day, lydia kieslings the golden state is as funny and alive a story as they come. The brainteasing golden state exists in a space where those two forms coexist. On the desk, a coffee mug smeared with red lipstick sits beside a small televi sion, the volume turned up high, blaring news of the vote. When daphne and her baby drive to the high desert of northern california, they are alone in a way that feels enervating and dangerous. Golden state is a weird mindf ck of a novel, and thats what makes it so wonderful. Lydia kiesling interview about her novel, the golden state. The us synopsis for it is both spoilery and massively misrepresentative, making it sound like a complicated work of literary fiction rather than the clever and compelling thriller it actually is. Add golden state on library thing add golden state on goodreads a stirring look at the ties that bind husbandwife, motherchild and even sisters, and what happens when theyre torn asunder. Golden state is a powerful, riveting and heartfelt novel, an ode to san francisco and to the fierceness of the human spirit. Set in the high desert of california, the golden state explores the emotional trials of early motherhood. Mcnamara book golden state killer ill be gone in the. Though theirs is a strained relationship, julie sets out for the.
It was first released in the united kingdom by collins in 1976 and later in the same year by doubleday in the united states. The golden state by lydia kiesling book club discussion. Ben winters, author of golden state in his new book, the author imagines a world where officers known as speculators track down liars, in a cross between a dystopian novel and a classic. Smart, intricate and propulsive, golden state is proof that winters deserves our continued attention as one of crime fictions most inventive practitioners. The novel beautifully depicts the golden light of california, the smell of the fescue grasses, the thinness of the air, and the way that daphne and honey often feel overwhelmed by the scale of.
The novel, written in the stream of consciousness mode, centers on the inner life of daphne nielsen, a new mother who suffers a nervous breakdown at the novels start. Winterss new novel, golden state, seems to be a swiftian, posttrumpian satire, a portrait of a culture based on a total ban on untruth, suggesting. Those in power rely on laz to discover the full and final truth. Mcd farrar, straus and giroux the opening of lydia kieslings debut novel, the golden state i am staring out the window of my office and thinking about death suggests this will be a narrative that looks both outward and inward, and kiesling expertly fulfills this promise, surveying both the spare, spacious landscape of californias. Golden state is a haunting novel by stephanie kegan about the choices we make, the loyalties we owe our families, and how fragile the foundations of an ordinary life can be. Perfect for fans of jodi picoult, jacquelyn mitchard, and anna quindlen, golden state is a powerful, mesmerizing new novel that explores the intricacies of marriage, family, and the profound moments that shape our lives. The book ill be gone in the dark by writer michelle mcnamara helped reenergize interest in the decadescold case of the golden state killer, who terrorized california in a string of at. Perfect for fans of jodi picoult, jacquelyn mitchard, and anna quindlen, golden state is a powerful, complex novel that explores the intricacies of marriage, family, and.
Shrivers novel tore at my emotions, was far darker, more provacative and disturbing. What happens when a mother hits the road and brings her toddler along for the ride. In lydia kieslings razorsharp debut novel, the golden state, we. As a consequence, a sympathetic readers imaginings may persist long after the book s puzzles have been solved. Winters new novel, golden state, unfolds in such a place, an alternatefuture california where the preservation of realitys integrity is the paramount duty of the good citizenry and of.
The golden state anchors daphnes journey in the visceral and material realities of motherhood. The maine edge an ambitious and frighteningly timely novel. The novel beautifully depicts the golden light of california, the smell of the fescue grasses, the thinness of the air, and the way that daphne and honey often feel overwhelmed by the scale of the spaces they find themselves in. Ben winters new novel golden state imagines an oppressive surveillance society where lying is forbidden and shows just how organization or. In the golden state, lydia kiesling brings motherhood to. Golden state is a novel about theextraordinary and ultimately disastrous impact of a brother on his youngerssisters life. Five years in the making, golden state is both a political thriller and a meditation on marriage, love, and loyalty. About the book welcome to golden state, where the worst crime you can commit is to lie. The golden state bears some resemblance to a flaneur novel. A woman leaves work midshift to go on the road with her daughter for reasons that arent.
One womans obsessive search for the golden state killer is a true crime book by michelle mcnamara about the golden state killer. Some technical flaws tarnish the golden state, but in its best moments, the novel is sure to dazzle those interested in feminist fiction. Golden state is a moral story of the supremacy of love over law, rendered moving by the tenderness of the ordinary domestic daytoday life wherein these atrocities come to be revealed. A shocking vision of our future that is one part minority report and. The book was released posthumously on february 27, 2018, nearly two years after mcnamaras death and two. It is about a woman named julie and it takes place when californians are voting whether or not california should secede from the united states.
Ellen sussman, bestselling author of the paradise guest house i hadnt read such a gripping, bittersweet, moving novel in ages. Golden state the novel by new york times bestselling. It is set in california in the mid1990s but reaches back in thememory of the narrator to the 1950s and forward to the nearly now of itstelling. The nerd daily golden state is a gripping and brainy pageturner. In golden state i wanted to delve deeper into the emotional heart of both natalie and her brilliant brother bobby. Winterss new novel golden state unfolds in such a place, an alternatefuture california where the preservation of realitys integrity is. Michelle richmond doctor julie walker has just signed her divorce papers when she receives news that her younger sister, heather, has gone into labor. Winters new novel, golden state, unfolds in such a place, an alternatefuture california where the preservation of realitys integrity is the paramount duty of. A gorgeous, raw debut novel about a young woman braving the ups and downs of motherhood in a fractured america. Winters is the new york times bestselling author of underground airlines and the last policeman trilogy. A team of criminals led by mastermind peter branson kidnaps the president. Starting with underground airlines, winters began to work more consciously on taking on larger issues with his book, and golden state continues that pattern. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the golden state.