We Are Gathered Here: A Novel - Softcover

Perks, Micah

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312152949 ISBN 13: 9780312152949

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin, 1997

Synopsis

The story of two women caught in the rural America of the 1880s, this novel is in part inspired by Perks' own family history. In it, she invites reappraisal of our own society's attitudes toward individuality, religion, illness, sexual orientation, and, especially, friendship, as we approach the turn of a new century.

About this title

About the Author:

Micah Perks teaches English and writing at Cornell University and Hobart William Smith in Geneva, New York.

From Library Journal:

In her first novel, Perks has developed her interest in the social history of women in 19th-century America into an intriguing tale of an unusual friendship. Regina Sartwell is the epileptic daughter of a successful businessman; her engagement has ended abruptly, with public humiliation for the entire family. She is sent to the Adirondacks to live with distant relatives and receive treatment. Olive Honsiger is newly wedded to a Swedish immigrant miner; she lives in her childhood home with her husband and ailing widowed mother. The two women meet at the train station, and Regina takes a shine to Olive's flaming red hair and insists she be hired as her maid. Each woman introduces the other to previously unknown worlds, and together they challenge society's assumptions about class, sex, and the role of women. But, as the protagonists learned in Isabel Miller's classic Patience and Sarah (LJ 1/15/72), the dominant male society will extract a price for their behavior. Highly recommended for popular fiction collections.?Debbie Bogenschutz, Cincinnati Technical Coll.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0312152949
• ISBN 13: 9780312152949
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304