Come to the Window
A Novel
Published on 6. September 2024
Book
Hardback
208 pages
978-1-324-07633-9 (ISBN)
Description
It's 1918. The war in Europe grinds on, and the Spanish flu seems to be on an insatiable killing spree. But in the small fishing village of Parrsboro, Nova Scotia, a more confined drama-harrowing and provocative-slowly unfolds. It begins when Elizabeth Frame murders her husband hours after their wedding and thrusts the revolver into the blowhole of a beached whale.
Crime reporter Toby Havenshaw is dispatched by the Halifax Evening Mail to cover the hearing, and his diary subsequently follows the surprising twists and turns of Elizabeth Frame's flight from the law, accompanied as she is by a love-besotted court stenographer. But Toby's diary also paints a vivid and deeply affecting portrait of his marriage to Amelia, a surgeon just returned from the front lines in France and Belgium. When a child is born to Elizabeth Frame on the lam, Amelia is drawn into events in ways she could never have imagined. And then everything changes.
Come to the Window explores a question both universal and timeless: How does one recover hope in a time of great bewilderment and grief?
Crime reporter Toby Havenshaw is dispatched by the Halifax Evening Mail to cover the hearing, and his diary subsequently follows the surprising twists and turns of Elizabeth Frame's flight from the law, accompanied as she is by a love-besotted court stenographer. But Toby's diary also paints a vivid and deeply affecting portrait of his marriage to Amelia, a surgeon just returned from the front lines in France and Belgium. When a child is born to Elizabeth Frame on the lam, Amelia is drawn into events in ways she could never have imagined. And then everything changes.
Come to the Window explores a question both universal and timeless: How does one recover hope in a time of great bewilderment and grief?
Reviews / Votes
"Have you ever gone to hear live music and when the first note sounds you say, 'Wow'? And when the performance is over, you look at your partner and say, 'Holy shit.' That's Come to the Window. The art, the flow, the wisdom of this work are unmatched. This is Howard Norman at his best." -- Percival Everett "Simply put, Come to the Window is a powerful, daring, eloquent and in all ways splendid novel." -- Richard Ford "'Window' might be among the best covid novels that's emerged because everything Norman observes is suffused with an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty." -- Mark Athitakis - The Washington Post "[A] story rich in language and description. A delightful, heartwarming novel." -- Janice Ottersberg - Historical Novel Society "This is humane, original, and easy to devour in a single sitting." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Norman has written what is at heart a tender book, sensitive to the surprising nature of relationships, the depths of personal trauma, and the capacity of affection to alleviate the pain." -- Kirkus (starred review)More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 212 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
316 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-324-07633-9 (9781324076339)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
04/2025
W. W. Norton & Company
€23.53
Available for download
Person
Howard Norman was twice a finalist for the National Book Award. He is the author of Come to the Window, The Bird Artist, What Is Left the Daughter, My Darling Detective, and other novels. He received a Lannan Award in literature. He lives in East Calais, Vermont.