This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance! - Softcover

Evison, Jonathan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1443442941 ISBN 13: 9781443442947

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2016

Synopsis

“A terrific novel, funny and moving, wistful and wise. Jonathan Evison’s writing crackles on the page.” ―Jess Walter, bestselling author of Beautiful Ruins

Recently widowed Harriet Chance is shocked to learn that her late husband had planned a surprise Alaskan cruise before his death. Not someone who has ever been particularly adventurous, Harriet sets sail anyway, only to discover through a series of revelations that all is not as she thought it was. Amidst the endless buffets and tacky lounge singers, between the imagined appearance of her late husband and the very real arrival of her estranged daughter, Harriet is compelled to take a long look back, confronting the truth about her past with heart, humour and some ill-advised honesty.

New York Times¬–bestselling author Jonathan Evison has crafted a big-hearted novel with a supremely endearing heroine at its centre. Through Harriet, he paints a bittersweet portrait of an unforgettable woman with great warmth, wit and humanity. Part dysfunctional love story, part exploration of family relationships and part coming of old age, This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance! is an utterly charming book about what it really means to begin again.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

“Once again, Jonathan Evison dazzles . . .

This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance! is as sweet as it is inventive, profound as it is hilarious, unflinching as it is bighearted. Step right up, don’t be shy! Take the hand of Evison’s delightfully menacing master of ceremonies and let him lead you into the kaleidoscopic journey of your life.” —Maria Semple, author of Where’d You Go, Bernadette

“A generous and wise tale, told with Evison’s trademark verve and charisma, This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance! is a deeply felt and deeply comforting novel.” —Patrick deWitt, author of The Sisters Brothers

“This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance! has all the wonderful snap and sizzle we’ve come to expect from Jonathan Evison’s work, and as much heart as any novel I’ve read in recent years. Evison packs an entire life--many lives--into this fine book, and does so with the empathy and insight of a writer at the top of his game.” —Ben Fountain, author of Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk

“Insightful, richly entertaining . . . Evison writes humanely and with good humor of his characters, who, like the rest of us, muddle through, too often without giving ourselves much of a break. A lovely, forgiving character study that’s a pleasure to read.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

About the Author:

JONATHAN EVISON is an American writer known for his novels All About Lulu (winner of the Washington State Book Award), West of Here (New York Times bestseller, winner of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award and the Booklist Editor’s Choice Award) and The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving (currently in development for film). In 2009 and 2011 he was nominated by the American Book Association as “Most Engaging Author.” In his teens, Evison was a founding member and frontman of the Seattle punk band March of Crimes, which included future members of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. Born in San Jose, California, he now lives on an island in western Washington with his family. His latest novel, This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance!, will be published in September 2015.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1443442941
• ISBN 13: 9781443442947
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304