The Problem With Murmur Lee - Hardcover

Fowler, Connie May

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385499817 ISBN 13: 9780385499811

Publisher: Doubleday, 2005

Synopsis

The bestselling author of Before Women Had Wings spins a wild new tale about the strong bonds among a group of friends that loses its quirkiest member, Murmur Lee. Exploring new literary territory while keeping to her native Floridian roots, Fowler is here at her most original and entertaining.

As a new year dawns over the island of Iris Haven, Murmur Lee Harp and her lover, Billy, go for a romantic sail without a care in the world. The evening comes to an abrupt halt when Murmur Lee discovers that she has drowned—but by whose hand?—in the Iris Haven river.

Grief-stricken and haunted by the mysteries surrounding her death, Murmur Lee’s circle of friends sets out to discover what really happened to her, and in the process they learn as much about her failings and triumphs as their own. After years of self-exile in the North, Charlee Mudd returns to set her best friend’s affairs in order, only to confront her own ghosts. Edith Piaf, a former marine whose sex change at the age of sixty-two Murmur Lee supported unquestioningly, must find the confidence to carry on without the encouragement of her friend. Lonely widower Dr. Zachary Klein plummets into the depths of depression at the loss of the second woman he has ever loved. As for Murmur Lee—who lived her entire life on an island named by her great-great grandfather in honor of the Greek goddess who receives the souls of dying women—in death she experiences her own journey as she is plunged into her familial past and discovers the truth about who she really is.

With poignancy and humor Fowler weaves the voices of Murmur and her friends into a compelling narrative. Part family saga, part murder mystery, The Problem with Murmur Lee is Fowler’s most rewarding and engrossing work yet.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

At thirty-two, Oster Harp is a wealthy man, a captain of industry who has settled on an unnamed island with his young pregnant wife and an entourage of servants to tend his property and ensure that nothing disturbs his peace and quiet. Pacing the beach on the morning his wife gives birth, he catches sight of a rainbow and, struck by the magic of the moment, names both the island and his newborn daughter for the Greek goddess of the rainbow. But Iris is also the goddess who receives the souls of dying women, and in choosing the name, Oster unwittingly leaves a legacy that haunts the island and the Harp family for generations to come.

Murmur Lee, Oster’s great-great-granddaughter, has spent her entire life on Iris Haven. She has married and divorced, raised two daughters, and seems totally content with her surroundings and with the latest beau in her long series of conquests. When, just shy of her fortieth birthday, Murmur drowns in the Iris Haven River, her eclectic circle of friends is profoundly shaken by the mysteries surrounding her death. After years of self-exile in the North, Charlie Mudd, Murmur’s best friend, returns to find out what really happened on that fateful night and is forced to confront the ghosts of her own past. Edith Piaf, a former marine whose sex-change at the age of sixty-two Murmur supported with an unquestioning generosity of spirit, vows to defend Murmur’s reputation against the snide rumors arising in town. And Murmur's egotistic lover, William, finds himself unable to let go of the woman who enchanted and intrigued him.

With poignancy and humor, and a loving respect for her characters, Fowler weaves the voices of Murmur and her friends into a compelling narrative. Part family saga, part murder mystery, THE PROBLEM WITH MURMUR LEE is Fowler’s most rewarding and engrossing work to date.

About the Author

Connie May Fowler is an essayist, screenwriter, memoirist, and novelist. Her novels include Remembering Blue and Before Women Had Wings, which received the Southern Book Critics Circle Award and was made into an Emmy-winning Oprah Winfrey Presents movie for television. She founded the Connie May Fowler Women with Wings Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to aiding women and children in need. She is the Irving Bacheller Professor of Creative Writing at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida.

Edition details

• Publisher: Doubleday
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0385499817
• ISBN 13: 9780385499811
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224