It happens all the time a woman goes missing, a family mourns. In her fearless first novel, so much pretty, cara hoffman demolishes our illusions about country life by addressing the problems of poverty, domestic abuse. Claire and gene moved with their precocious, beguiling daughter alice to haeden, new york for a fresh start. What do readers think of so much pretty by cara hoffman. When nineteenyearold wendy white disappears, the small town of haeden, new york, is shaken to its core. Families have lived there for generations, working the land, running dairy farms or the most unlucky, live unemployed for generations. So much pretty book by cara hoffman official publisher page. She has won a new york state foundation for the arts fellowship for her work on the aesthetics of violence and its impact on children and has been a visiting writer at st. Cara hoffman is the author of running, a new york times editors choice, an esquire magazine best book of 2017, and an autostraddle best queer and feminist book of 2017. The narrative structure of the book adds so much to the richness of the read, leaving the reader piecing the pieces together as time and voice shifts. I expected quite a lot from so much pretty and having read it now, im a bit let down. When she disappeared from her rural hometown, wendy white was a sweet, familyoriented girl, a late bloomer whod recently moved out on her own, with her. So much pretty was hoffman s first novel to reach a wide audience.
It happens all the timea woman goes missing, a family mourns, and the case. As i read so much pretty, which is a stunning debut novel, i was reminded of the lovely bones. Here, she interviews cara hoffman, author of so much pretty, a novel that centers on the disappearance of a young woman from a rural new york community. Alices and flynns perspectives, along with those of many others, including the dead girls, hoffman s book rotates points of view every couple of pages. So much pretty french edition by cara hoffman nook. Hoffman in so much pretty lays out a gripping and compelling reading that draws the reader into the complex and provocative narratie that unfolds. Cara hoffman, author of so much pretty the nervous breakdown. So much pretty, a first novel by cara hoffman, goes there. Mar 15, 2011 so much pretty is the impressive debut of a fierce novelist. She has written for all ages, from young adults books to her awardwinning novels for adults, like so much pretty 2011. Feb 07, 2012 cara hoffman can write some powerful descriptive passages and there is no doubt the ideas contained in the book are wideranging, challenging with some great thriller twists near the end but it is incredibly disjointed and frustrating at the start so many will struggle to get to the concluding section. Along the way, we get caught up in her portraits of those who belong, those who dont, and. Jun 10, 2011 cara hoffman s so much pretty has everything i long for in a good book.
Cara hoffmann succeeded, not only in delivering a tensionfilled plot, but also got you from a to b believably. So much pretty is the ugliest book i have read in years and i couldnt put it down. Stacy flynn is a reporter covering the tiny town of haeden. Hoffmans book, so much pretty provides a very good description of rural community life while depicting some of the more negative aspects of rural values and. On its most fundamental level, so much pretty is the story of alice piper and her parents, from the time of her birth. When she disappeared from her rural hometown, wendy white was a sweet, familyoriented girl, a late bloomer whod recently moved out on her own, with her first real boyfriend and a job waiting tables at the local tavern.
Listen free to so much pretty by cara hoffman with a free trial. Johns university, goddard college, columbia university, and oxford university. But what she does best of all is to capture the symptoms and fallout of ptsd. She is the author of three critically acclaimed novels, so much pretty 2011, be safe, i love you 2014, and running 2017. Huffington post cara hoffman has written an intriguing, tangled puzzle of a novel that defies categorization. Set in a rural community steeped in silence and denial, so much pretty explores all parents greatest fear, that their child will be hurt. Hoffman appears to be as intriguing a character as her protagonist. She has written for the new york times, marie claire, salon, and national public radio, and is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades including a folio prize nomination, and a sundance institute global filmmaking award. There were moments when i wept, when i cursed the dream that came true that we would have a daughter. The story itself is about a chilling crime that happens in a small, rural town. But it also examines a second, equally troubling question. So much pretty unravels a narrative thats rich with suspense and moral complexity. Cara hoffman is the author of the internationally critically acclaimed novel so much pretty. Cara hoffman writes books for a new generation of climate.
Cest lamerique postindustrielle dans toute sa noirceur. But the books eerie finale delivers the most potent message, showing that in any. Cara hoffman is the author of running, a new york times editors choice, an esquire magazine best book of 2017, and an autostraddle best queer and feminist book of 2017 she first received national attention in 2011 with the publication of so much pretty which sparked a national dialogue on violence and retribution and was named best suspense novel of the year by the new york times book revi. Although mostly well written, the story devolves into some snoozeworthy prose, particularly sections detailing agricultural practices and alice. Gene and claire piper, newly married doctors who worked in a free clinic on manhattans lower east side, thought theyd escaped the curse of modern civilization when they moved to a depressed upstate town and turned. The way investigative reporter hoffman navigates the line between what is spoken and unspoken, and portrays a communitys desire to address any crisis but the one next door make so much pretty a staggering read. In this story about a female soldier returning from a tour of duty in iraq, hoffman so much pretty, 2011 does many things well, including her depictions of sibling dynamics, setting both upstate new york and iraq, and the workingclass mindset. So much pretty by cara hoffman penguin books australia. Stream and download audiobooks to your computer, tablet and ios and android devices. Hoffmans debut novel takes readers to the unsexy world of rural new york and a farming community with more than one secret.
Cara hoffman this uncompromising, incendiary novel holds true to the same fierce commitments as its haunting, haunted characters. So much pretty is the critically acclaimed debut novel from new york based author cara hoffman, published by windmill books in the small town of haeden, new york, a strangers face is an unwelcome sight. In her fearless first novel, so much pretty, cara hoffman demolishes our illusions about country life by addressing the problems of poverty, domestic abuse, teenage violence and environmental damage that are threatening to destroy the small communities of rural america. So much pretty thorndike press large print core series. Dana spiotta, national book awardnominated author of stone arabia so much pretty unravels a narrative thats rich with suspense and moral complexity. Along the way, we get caught up in her portraits of those who belong, those who dont, and the irreversible consequences of lives coming together. Once you start to get an inkling of what is going to happen, you wonder how its going to happen. March 15, 2011 tea obreht makes her sparkling debut with the folkloric tigers wife, and another new author, cara hoffman, holds her own with the creepy but elegant so much pretty. It came to me as a loan from marianne pita, the chair of the english department at bronx community college, who was duly impressed by the talent of author cara hoffman, who is a parttime member of our department. So much pretty french edition by cara hoffman nook book. A man can only take so much pretty walking back and forth in front of him. When nineteenyearold local waitress, wendy white, disappears, the small town of haeden, new york, is shaken to. Hoffmans book, so much pretty provides a very good description of rural community life while depicting some of the more negative aspects of rural values and the difficulties of being a new resident read outsider which can mean living in a dual area less than 20 years or a whole lifetime. So much awful packed into a book that makes so little sense.
Cara hoffman delves into the inspiration behind so much pretty, her novel addressing the most disturbingly tangible issues of present day femininity and humanity. Mar 06, 2012 by cara hoffman set in a rural community steeped in silence and denial, so much pretty explores all parents greatest fear, that their child will be hurt. Listen free to so much pretty audiobook by cara hoffman with a 30 day free trial. Hoffman s book, so much pretty provides a very good description of rural community life while depicting some of the more negative aspects of rural values and the difficulties of being a new resident read outsider which can mean living in a dual area less than 20 years or a whole lifetime. There is no escaping the heat, grime, or glittering promise of violence of athenss underbelly, but the bond between three young drifters is infused with moments of transcendence. Johns university, goddard college, columbia university, and oxford university, where she lectured on antisocial masculinity for the rhodes global scholars symposium. Buy this book in this remarkable debut, hoffman addresses serious. Download read so much pretty 2011 by cara hoffman in.
Cara hoffman when she disappeared from her rural hometown, wendy white was a sweet, familyoriented girl, who had recently moved out on her own. Jul 06, 2011 so much pretty thorndike press large print core series hoffman, cara on. So much pretty is a haunting, gloomy novel that defies genre it is one part crime thriller, one part ambitious novel, one part prose poem. In cara hoffman s debut novel, so much pretty, this jarring disconnect is one of the storys most intriguing undercurrents. Sometimes she felt she had fallen asleep inside herself while she was wide awake working. Raised in upstate new york herself in a place much like haeden, she dropped out of high school and moved to europe, working for a time in. But, while i share mariannes admiration, i also found the book appalling. Hoffman is the author of the critically acclaimed novels running, so much pretty and be safe i love you. So much pretty book by cara hoffman official publisher. The police are unable to trace the missing waitress.
But, six months later, wendys tortured body is found in the nearby woods. In so much pretty, her first novel, that experience bleeds into her characterization of stacey flynn, a smalltown reporter investigating the disappearance of a. Delicately balancing two story lines, cara hoffman dramatizes a death and a disappearance. I devoured this beautiful book, and hoffman s writing is a revelation. As a lecturer, she has spoken at columbia university and at oxford universitys global.
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