ISBN: 9780307474803

In this enchanting debut novel, Maggie Pouncey brings to life the unforgettable Flora Dempsey, the headstrong and quick-witted only child of Lewis Dempsey, a beloved former college presid… More...

In this enchanting debut novel, Maggie Pouncey brings to life the unforgettable Flora Dempsey, the headstrong and quick-witted only child of Lewis Dempsey, a beloved former college president and famous literary critic in the league of Harold Bloom. At the news of her father's death, Flora quits her big-city magazine job and returns to Darwin, the quaint New England town where she grew up, to retreat into the house he has left her, filled as it is with reminders of him. Even weightier is her appointment as her father's literary executor. It seems he was secretly writing poems at the end of his life--love poems to a girlfriend Flora didn't know he had. Flora soon discovers that this woman has her own claims on Lewis's poetry and his memory, and in the righteousness of her loss and bafflement at her father's secrets--his life so richly separate from her own in ways she never guessed--Flora is highly suspicious of her. Meanwhile, Flora is besieged by well-wishers and literary bloggers alike as she tries to figure out how to navigate it all: the fate of the poems, the girlfriend who wants a place in her life, her memories of her parents' divorce, and her own uncertain future. At once comic and profound, "Perfect Reader" is a heady, uplifting story of loneliness and of the spur to growth that grief can be. Brimming with energy and with the elbow-patchy wisdom of her still-vivid father, Flora's story will set her free to be the "perfect reader" not just of her father's life but of her own as well. "From the Hardcover edition." Perfect Reader Pouncey, Maggie Flora Dempsey is the headstrong only child of Lewis Dempsey, a college professor and world famous critic. When Lewis passes away, Flora returns to her New England hometown to act as his literary executor. There, she finds herself responsible for a manuscript that he was secretly writing at the end of his life--love poems to a girlfriend Flora didn't know he had. As Flora is besieged by well-wishers and literary vultures alike, she tries to figure out how to navigate it all: the fate of the poems, the girlfriend who wants a place in her life, the wounds left by her parents' divorce, and her uncertain future. Brimming with energy, humor, and the elbow-patchy wisdom of Flora's still-vivid father, this enchanting debut""is the uplifting story of a young woman striving to become the "perfect reader" of her father's life, as well as her own.<

ISBN: 9780307474803

Twentysomething city girl Flora Dempsey is called back to the scene ofher tumultuous childhood by her father's sudden death. Her father, Lewis, has willed her an old farmhouse; his dog, L… More...

Twentysomething city girl Flora Dempsey is called back to the scene ofher tumultuous childhood by her father's sudden death. Her father, Lewis, has willed her an old farmhouse; his dog, Larks; and a manuscript filledwith unpublished poems. As his heir and literary executor, Flora learns toview the world from her father's point of view. The former president of asmall New England liberal arts college (think Amherst), he hid certainparts of his life from her, including the woman he was Twentysomething city girl Flora Dempsey is called back to the scene ofher tumultuous childhood by her father's sudden death. Her father, Lewis, has willed her an old farmhouse; his dog, Larks; and a manuscript filledwith unpublished poems. As his heir and literary executor, Flora learns toview the world from her father's point of view. The former president of asmall New England liberal arts college (think Amherst), he hid certainparts of his life from her, including the woman he was seeing before hedied, who has her own ideas about his legacy. At the same time, Flora must manage a cast of characters from her past. Living again in the town where she grew up, she bumps into acquaintancesshe hasn't seen in years, conjuring up incidents and memories that aren'twholly welcome. As she attempts to move forward and reconstruct thelife of a man she thought she knew, Flora encounters her father's humor, passion, and intellectual rigor on a scale previously unimagined. She'salso given a mirror to better view her own shortcomings, and is forced toaccept the fact that she has taken on some of the very traits she so dislikedin her parents. A debut novel filled with slowly revealed mysteries, Perfect Reader isa gripping character study of a young woman who travels through griefand narcissism toward maturity and understanding. Books, Fiction~~Literary, Perfect-Reader~~Maggie-Pouncey, , , , , , , , , , Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group<

ISBN: 0307474801

<-> Flora Dempsey is the headstrong only child of Lewis Dempsey, a college professor and world famous critic. When Lewis passes away, Flora returns to her New England hometown to act as h… More...

<-> Flora Dempsey is the headstrong only child of Lewis Dempsey, a college professor and world famous critic. When Lewis passes away, Flora returns to her New England hometown to act as his literary executor. There, she finds herself responsible for a manuscript that he was secretly writing at the end of his life--love poems to a girlfriend Flora didn't know he had. As Flora is besieged by well-wishers and literary vultures alike, she tries to figure out how to navigate it all: the fate of the poems, the girlfriend who wants a place in her life, the wounds left by her parents' divorce, and her uncertain future. Brimming with energy, humor, and the elbow-patchy wisdom of Flora's still-vivid father, this enchanting debutis the uplifting story of a young woman st <-> Romane, Erzählungen & Anthologien Flora Dempsey is the headstrong only child of Lewis Dempsey, a college professor and world famous critic. When Lewis passes away, Flora returns to her New England hometown to act as his literary executor. There, she finds herself responsible for a manuscript that he was secretly writing at the end of his life--love poems to a girlfriend Flora didn't know he had. As Flora is besieged by well-wishers and literary vultures alike, she tries to figure out how to navigate it all: the fate of the poems, the girlfriend who wants a place in her life, the wounds left by her parents' divorce, and her uncertain future. Brimming with energy, humor, and the elbow-patchy wisdom of Flora's still-vivid father, this enchanting debut""is the uplifting story of a young woman striving to become the "perfect reader" of her father's life, as well as her own.<