The Violet Hour
1st Edition
Published on 6. February 2014
352 pages
978-0-241-96414-9 (ISBN)
Description
Katherine Hill's Violet Hour is blazing debut about a woman who just can't stop herself from destroying what she loves most.
For a moment that afternoon, it was only woman and water, the Bay in all its sickening glory squaring itself for a fight.
Life hasn't always been perfect, but for Abe and Cassandra Green, an afternoon on the San Francisco Bay might be as good as it gets. He's a doctor piloting his new sailing boat. She's a sculptor finally getting a bit of recognition. Their beautiful daughter Elizabeth is off to Harvard at the end of the summer. But then there is a terrible row. Cassandra has been unfaithful. In a fit of insanity, Abe throws himself off the boat.
A love story that begins with the end of a marriage, The Violet Hour follows a 21st century American family through past and present, from a lavish New York wedding to the family funeral home in suburban Washington, from a drunken PTA party to a scene of unexpected public violence.
In this deeply resonant novel intimacy is fragile and the search for gratification breeds destruction. Here is a family ripped apart by desire. And here is a family possibly reborn.
Katherine Hill was born in Washington, D.C., in 1982. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in many publications including n+1, The Believer, Bookforum, Colorado Review and the San Francisco Chronicle. This is her first novel.
For a moment that afternoon, it was only woman and water, the Bay in all its sickening glory squaring itself for a fight.
Life hasn't always been perfect, but for Abe and Cassandra Green, an afternoon on the San Francisco Bay might be as good as it gets. He's a doctor piloting his new sailing boat. She's a sculptor finally getting a bit of recognition. Their beautiful daughter Elizabeth is off to Harvard at the end of the summer. But then there is a terrible row. Cassandra has been unfaithful. In a fit of insanity, Abe throws himself off the boat.
A love story that begins with the end of a marriage, The Violet Hour follows a 21st century American family through past and present, from a lavish New York wedding to the family funeral home in suburban Washington, from a drunken PTA party to a scene of unexpected public violence.
In this deeply resonant novel intimacy is fragile and the search for gratification breeds destruction. Here is a family ripped apart by desire. And here is a family possibly reborn.
Katherine Hill was born in Washington, D.C., in 1982. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in many publications including n+1, The Believer, Bookforum, Colorado Review and the San Francisco Chronicle. This is her first novel.
Reviews / Votes
A rewarding family saga reminiscent of Anne Tyler's novels . . . Wonderfully witty * Washington Post * Hill handles the intimacy of family ties with care and tenderness . . . Readers who enjoyed Jonathan Franzen's Freedom will relate as Hill's characters similarly and systematically unravel from each other * Booklist * An affecting tale about decent but flawed people * Publishers Weekly * The Violet Hour succeeds in nearly every measure . . . the story of this family - at once alien and familiar, pitiable and impressive - is rendered with candor and economy * Colorado Review * A bittersweet tale of breakup and forgiveness * O, The Oprah Magazine * An unusual retrospective of a family torn apart by divorce and infidelity and so keenly affected by the immediate events in their lives that they are only barely aware of what's transpiring around them . . . A bleak and disturbing story but one that offers a glimmer of hope * Kirkus Reviews * An absorbing read . . . very good on the unspoken nuances of family life and the irrational irritations we often feel for those we love * Daily Mail * Splices humorous set pieces with gently searing revelations . . . a sophisticated saga, offering easy pleasures with no easy truths * Observer *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
File size
1,62 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-241-96414-9 (9780241964149)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Katherine Hill was born in Washington, D.C., in 1982. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in many publications including n+1, The Believer, Bookforum, Colorado Review and the San Francisco Chronicle. This is her first novel.
