The Solace of Leaving Early: A Novel - Softcover

Kimmel, Haven

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0385499833 ISBN 13: 9780385499835

Publisher: Doubleday, 2002

Synopsis

In her rich and nuanced debut novel, Haven Kimmel brings to life two irresistible people at odds with their small-town lives and with each other.

Langston Braverman does not come home to Haddington, Indiana, because she is searching for a simpler life. Having just walked out of her Ph.D. oral exams and abandoned the remains of a disastrous affair, she has retreated to her parents’ attic to nurse a bruised heart and maybe even write a great American novel. It does not escape her attention that the town is abuzz with the death of her childhood friend, Alice, but not even this morsel of intrigue can rouse Langston from her self-imposed existential dilemma.

A few houses down Plum Street, Amos Townsend is obsessed with Alice's murder and his inability to stop it from happening. A preacher struggling with his role as a spiritual leader after suffering a profound crisis of faith, he finds comfort in helping Alice's two small girls, who have renamed themselves Immaculata and Epiphany. When the children claim to speak to the Virgin Mary in the backyard tree, Amos and Langston become adversaries in their attempts to protect the girls, failing to recognize that they are on the same side.

Told with remarkable wit and sweeping empathy, The Solace of Leaving Early is the story of finding our better selves through accepting the shortcomings of others. With gentle humor, beautiful prose, and a warm empathy for the buried wounds of the human heart, Haven Kimmel has created an unforgettable and wise debut.

About this title

From the Back Cover

“A wonderful debut . . . . Vivid and hopeful, packed with astute allusions.” —San Francisco Chronicle

“Kimmel delivers a first novel of big ideas and exquisite characters. Sweet and smart, her book feels like a present.” —Entertainment Weekly

“A quirky, literary love story . . . best read for its characters, its surprising phrasing and the way it deals with all sorts of ideas, including the possibility of improbable love.” —USA Today

“Kimmel, whose sunny memoir of growing up in Indiana, A Girl Named Zippy, was so charming, here extends her range, wrestling, like Jacob with the angel, with deep questions of faith and responsibility. And the reader is the lucky winner.” —The Times-Picayune

“Kimmel gives us a stunning bird’s-eye view of rural American life, as damning as it is affectionate.” — Los Angeles Times

"The Solace of Leaving Early is by turns funny and sad and perplexing and compassionate." —The Miami Herald

"[The Solace of Leaving Early]. . . explores the mores of community as thoroughly as John Updike and delineates character as finely as Jonathan Franzen." —The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Filled with shattering revelations . . . her characters [are] electrifying— this compassionate book is one that begs to be sampled and savored.” —The Stanford Herald

"A captivating book with ragged edges. . . . Rare are the writers who can bring head and heart and wit to bear on their fictional landscapes. Kimmel proves she's one of them." —The Plain Dealer

“A sweet and satisfying reward . . . more delicious than a gooey dessert.” ----—Midwest Living

"Intelligent and compassionate." —Publishers Weekly

" The Solace of Leaving Early is a beautiful meditation on what it means to be home, and how home can be found in the most unexpected places." -Bookpage

"There must have been a time when John Updike had only just begun, a time when Carol Shields wasn't known much outside Ottawa. And there must have been some readers then who got to experience the bliss of knowing that they would witness the trajectory of these writers' careers. Hear me this: Haven Kimmel is a reason for great happiness." —The Orlando Sentinel

About the Author

HAVEN KIMMEL is the author of the memoir A Girl Named Zippy. She studied English and creative writing at Ball State University and North Carolina State University. She also attended seminary at the Earlham School of Religion. She lives in Durham, North Carolina.

About this edition

• Publisher: Doubleday
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0385499833
• ISBN 13: 9780385499835
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272