Joyce Maynard is an accomplished author of fiction and nonfiction whose work delves into themes of loss, family, and finding one's place in the world. She is celebrated for her candid and introspective writing style, which invites readers into the profound depths of human experience. Her narratives are cherished for their emotional resonance and accessible exploration of life's complexities. Maynard's thoughtful prose consistently engages and moves her audience.
Explore the enchanting realm of La Llorona through the lens of Joyce Maynard, a New York Times bestselling author. The narrative weaves together elements of folklore and personal discovery, inviting readers to delve into the haunting tales and rich cultural heritage surrounding this legendary figure. Maynard's storytelling captures the emotional depth and complexities of the characters, making it a captivating journey that intertwines magic and reality.
"In her most ambitious novel to date, New York Times bestselling author Joyce Maynard takes on the topography of the heart - a landscape of grief, reconciliation, forgiveness, and the way the mistakes of parents are passed down through generations, to fester, or to be healed"--
From New York Times bestselling author Joyce Maynard comes the eagerly anticipated follow-up to her beloved novel Count the Ways--a complex story of three generations of a family and its remarkable, resilient, indomitable matriarch, Eleanor. Following the death of her former husband, Cam, fifty-four-year-old Eleanor has moved back to the New Hampshire farm where they raised three children to care for their brain-injured son, Toby, now an adult. Toby's older brother, Al, is married and living in Seattle with his wife; their sister, Ursula, lives in Vermont with her husband and two children. Although all appears stable, old resentments, anger, and bitterness simmer just beneath the surface. How the Light Gets In follows Eleanor and her family through fifteen years (2010 to 2024) as their story plays out against a uniquely American backdrop and the events that transform their world (climate change, the January 6th insurrection, school violence) and shape their lives (later-life love, parental alienation, steadfast friendship). With her trademark sensitivity and insight, Joyce Maynard paints an indelible portrait of characters both familiar and new making their way over rough, messy, and treacherous terrain to find their way to what is, for each, a place to call "home."
In a shocking novel of ambition and sexual obsession, the highly acclaimed author of Baby Love tells the story of a beautiful, young TV reporter who convinces her 16-year-old boyfriend to kill her husband in cold blood. "A seductive page-turner . . . psychologically penetrating".--The New York Times Book Review.
Journalist and novelist Joyce Maynard writes about her extraordinary life, including the story of her year-long love affair with the author of The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger. At the time of their relationship, she was 18, Salinger was 53.
As the end of summer approaches and a long, hot Labor Day weekend looms, the life of lonely thirteen-year-old Henry Wheeler is irrevocably changed when he and his emotionally fragile mother show kindness to a stranger with a terrible secret. Now a major motion picture starring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin, Labor Day is a poignant story of love, sex, adolescence, and devastating treachery.
And Other Writings on Complex Mother-Daughter Relationships
322 pages
12 hours of reading
A collection of writings by women on the tangled bonds they share with their(often) less-than-perfect mothers. Every woman has something to say on the subject of her mother. In fact, many of us spend our lives trying to figure out just how we are like-or unlike-them. And yet, as intricate as the ties that bind mothers and daughters can be, most women never let go of the desire to really know their mothers. In How I Learned to Cook and Other Writings on Complex Mother-Daughter Relationships, women authors explore what is perhaps the most complicated of family relationships. In this elegant collection of writings, daughters describe their relationships with mothers whose own lives sometimes stood in the way of their ability to fill society's ideal of what a good mother should be. With critically acclaimed authors-including Jamaica Kincaid, Paula Fox, and Alice Walker-sharing the page with emerging writers, How I Learned to Cook proves that every daughter has much to discover and understand about her mother.
From the author of To Die For comes this poignant, stirring, and occasionally hilarious story of a woman's attempt to remake her life after a searing divorce. Maynard's novel captures love as one approaches middle age in contemporary America.
Die Geschichte einer Außenseiterin auf dem Weg zu sich selbst »Betrachten Sie die Liebe als einen Zustand der Gnade, nicht als Mittel zu irgendetwas, sondern (...) als etwas, das für sich steht.« (Gabriel García Márquez, Liebe in Zeiten der Cholera) Nach einem Schicksalsschlag steht Irene am Tiefpunkt ihres Lebens. Spontan steigt sie in einen Bus ohne zu wissen, wohin er sie führt. Als sie schließlich in einem kleinen Dorf in Mittelamerika landet, quartiert sie sich in einem Hotel am Fuß eines Vulkans ein, wo sie sich zum ersten Mal nach einer langen Zeit zu Hause und geborgen fühlt. Es ist ein paradiesischer Ort, an dem die bunten, wunderschönen Vögel die Künstlerin Irene zum Malen inspirieren. Durch unvorhergesehene Ereignisse wird ihr das Hotel übertragen. Anfangs noch skeptisch nimmt sie jedoch nach und nach die neue Aufgabe an. Es ist die Gemeinschaft im Hotel und auch dessen besondere Gäste, die ihr einen neuen Lebensinhalt geben. Doch wird sie jemals wieder glücklich sein? . Der wunderschön und in schillernden Farben erzählte Roman berührt und lädt zum Staunen ein. Es ist ein hoffnungsfrohes Buch, das den Blick und die Liebe auf die kleinen und doch so wertvollen Dinge des Lebens richtet.
The New York Times bestselling author returns with a warm and haunting novel of sisterhood, adolescence, sacrifice, and suspense. Set in the summer of 1979, Rachel and her younger sister Patty navigate their days in northern California, influenced by their charming yet unfaithful detective father and their heartbroken mother. Left to their own devices, the inseparable sisters engage in imaginative games and fantasies about their mysterious new neighbor. However, their summer takes a dark turn when young women begin to turn up dead on the nearby mountain, and their father is tasked with finding the killer known as The Sunset Strangler. As the murders unfold and her father's life unravels, Rachel decides to take matters into her own hands, risking everything to catch the killer. This dangerous game leads to devastating consequences that impact her father's career and the lives of those she loves. Thirty years later, Rachel, still seeking justice for her father, confronts the past and uncovers a long-buried family secret. This tale, inspired by real events, explores the complexities of a young girl's journey into adulthood, the bond between sisters, and the intricacies of a daughter's relationship with her father.
Nées le même jour dans des familles très différentes, Ruth, artiste romantique, et Dana, scientifique réaliste, luttent toutes deux pour trouver leur place dans un monde qui leur semble étranger. Située dans le New Hampshire rural, l’histoire suit leurs parcours de vie, alternant entre les voix de Ruth et Dana, des années 1950 à aujourd’hui. Joyce Maynard explore les chemins entrelacés de ces « sœurs de naissance », abordant des thèmes tels que les premiers amours, la découverte de la sexualité, le mariage, la maternité, la perte des parents, le divorce, et la révélation d’un secret longtemps enfoui qui bouleverse leur existence. Ce récit évoque la culture des fraises, la conscription pour le Vietnam, l’élevage des chèvres, et les rêves de richesse éphémères. Il met en lumière l’amour de la terre et l’affection paternelle, tout en montrant comment des individus peuvent se blesser profondément malgré leur attachement. Au cœur de cette histoire se trouvent les liens familiaux, la force dévastatrice de l’amour perdu, et la paix que peut apporter le pardon.
Nach dem Ende ihrer Ehe fühlt Helen sich einsam, selbst zu ihrem kleinen Sohn findet sie keinen Zugang mehr. Dann lernt sie Ava und Swift Havilland kennen. Das charismatische Paar heißt Helen mit offenen Armen in ihrer Welt willkommen – einer Welt von interessanten Menschen, ausgelassenen Partys und Wohlstand. Immer stärker gerät die junge Frau in den Bann ihrer neuen Freunde. Bis sie feststellen muss, dass diese Freundschaft an Bedingungen geknüpft ist. Und dass sie dadurch im Begriff ist, zu verlieren, was sie am meisten liebt. „Genauso wie Helen von den Havillands in den Bann gezogen wird, wird auch der Leser von dieser völlig betörenden, unbedingt lesenswerten Geschichte eingesogen.“ Booklist
