Monahan, Marta:The Courage to be Brilliant: How Five Acts of Improvement a Day Will Make Y ou Shine
- Paperback 2010, ISBN: 9781892409010
Anchor Books. Very Good. 19 x 13cm. Paperback. 2003. 353 pages. <br>NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER ? NATIONAL BESTSELLER ? An astonishing novel that traces the lives of a Scottish fami… More...
Anchor Books. Very Good. 19 x 13cm. Paperback. 2003. 353 pages. <br>NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER ? NATIONAL BESTSELLER ? An astonishing novel that traces the lives of a Scottish family over a decade as they confront the joys and longings, fulfillment s and betrayals of love in all its guises. In June of 1989 Paul McLeod, a newspaper publisher and recent widower, travels to Gre ece, where he falls for a young American artist and reflects on t he complicated truth about his marriage.... Six years later, ag ain in June, Paul's death draws his three grown sons and their fa milies back to their ancestral home. Fenno, the eldest, a wry, in trospective gay man, narrates the events of this unforeseen reuni on. Far from his straitlaced expatriate life as a bookseller in G reenwich Village, Fenno is stunned by a series of revelations tha t threaten his carefully crafted defenses.... Four years farther on, in yet another June, a chance meeting on the Long Island sho re brings Fenno together with Fern Olitsky, the artist who once c aptivated his father. Now pregnant, Fern must weigh her guilt abo ut the past against her wishes for the future and decide what fam ily means to her. In prose rich with compassion and wit, Three Junes paints a haunting portrait of love's redemptive powers. Ed itorial Reviews From The New Yorker This enormously accomplished début novel is a triptych that spans three summers, across a dec ade, in the disparate lives of the McLeod family. The widowed fat her, a newspaper publisher who maintains the family manse in Scot land, is chary, dogged, and deceptively mild. Fenno, the eldest s on, runs an upscale bookshop in the West Village, and his most in timate relationship--aside from almost anonymous grapplings with a career house-sitter named Tony--is with a parrot called Felicit y. One of Fenno's younger brothers is a Paris chef whose wife tur ns out pretty daughters like so many brioches; the other is a vet erinarian whose wife wants Fenno to help them have a baby. Glass is interested in how risky love is for some people, and she write s so well that what might seem like farce is rich, absorbing, and full of life. Copyright ® 2005 The New Yorker Review Enormous ly accomplished....rich, absorbing, and full of life. -The New Yo rker A warm, wise debut. . . . Three Junes marks a blessed event for readers of literary fiction everywhere.-San Francisco Chroni cle Julia Glass's talent sends chills up my spine; Three Junes i s a marvel.-Richard Russo, author of Empire Falls Three Junes al most threatens to burst with all the life it contains. Glass's ab ility to illuminate and deepen the mysteries of her characters' l ives is extraordinary. - Michael Cunningham, author of The Hours 'Three Junes' brilliantly rescues, then refurbishes, the traditi onal plot-driven novel. . . Glass has written a generous book abo ut family expectations-but also about happiness. - The New York T imes Book Review Gorgeous. . .'Three Junes' goes after the big i ssues without a trace of fustiness and gives us a memorable hero. - Los Angeles Times Book Review 'Three Junes' is a novel that b ursts with the lives of its characters. They move into our hearts , taking up permanent residence, the newest members of the reader 's family of choice.-Times-Picayune Fiercely realized. . .luxuri ant in its emotional comprehension and the idea, or promise, that anything might happen.-Boston Globe Radiant...an intimate liter ary triptych of lives pulled together and torn apart.-Chicago Tri bune Sophisticated . . . Engrossing . . . Catches the surprisin g twists and turns in family relationships, amid love, loss, hope and regret.-Seattle Post-Intelligencer The sort of sparkling d ebut that marks a writer as one to watch. -Daily News The fluid , evolving nature of family history is at the heart of this assur ed first novel.-Time Out New York This first novel treats family ties, erotic longing, small children and prolonged deaths from A IDS and cancer with a subtlety that grows from scrupulous unsenti mentality.-Newsday Formidable. . . The traditional novel of soci al relations is very much alive in Three Junes. Virginia Woolf an d Elizabeth Bowen, among other exemplars, would surely approve.-K irkus Reviews Brimming with a marvelous cast of intricate charac ters set in an assortment of scintillating backdrops, Glass's phi losophically introspective novel is highly intelligent and well-w ritten.-Booklist Review Enormously accomplished....rich, absorbi ng, and full of life. -The New Yorker A warm, wise debut. . . . Three Junes marks a blessed event for readers of literary fiction everywhere.-San Francisco Chronicle Julia Glass's talent sends chills up my spine; Three Junes is a marvel.-Richard Russo, autho r of Empire Falls Three Junes almost threatens to burst with all the life it contains. Glass's ability to illuminate and deepen t he mysteries of her characters' lives is extraordinary. - Michael Cunningham, author of The Hours 'Three Junes' brilliantly rescu es, then refurbishes, the traditional plot-driven novel. . . Glas s has written a generous book about family expectations-but also about happiness. - The New York Times Book Review Gorgeous. . .' Three Junes' goes after the big issues without a trace of fustine ss and gives us a memorable hero. - Los Angeles Times Book Review 'Three Junes' is a novel that bursts with the lives of its char acters. They move into our hearts, taking up permanent residence, the newest members of the reader's family of choice.-Times-Picay une Fiercely realized. . .luxuriant in its emotional comprehensi on and the idea, or promise, that anything might happen.-Boston G lobe Radiant...an intimate literary triptych of lives pulled tog ether and torn apart.-Chicago Tribune Sophisticated . . . Engro ssing . . . Catches the surprising twists and turns in family rel ationships, amid love, loss, hope and regret.-Seattle Post-Intell igencer The sort of sparkling debut that marks a writer as one to watch. -Daily News The fluid, evolving nature of family hist ory is at the heart of this assured first novel.-Time Out New Yor k This first novel treats family ties, erotic longing, small chi ldren and prolonged deaths from AIDS and cancer with a subtlety t hat grows from scrupulous unsentimentality.-Newsday Formidable. . . The traditional novel of social relations is very much alive in Three Junes. Virginia Woolf and Elizabeth Bowen, among other e xemplars, would surely approve.-Kirkus Reviews Brimming with a m arvelous cast of intricate characters set in an assortment of sci ntillating backdrops, Glass's philosophically introspective novel is highly intelligent and well-written.-Booklist From the Insid e Flap An astonishing first novel that traces the lives of a Scot tish family over a decade as they confront the joys and longings, fulfillments and betrayals of love in all its guises. In June of 1989 Paul McLeod, a newspaper publisher and recent widower, tr avels to Greece, where he falls for a young American artist and r eflects on the complicated truth about his marriage. . ..Six year s later, again in June, Paul?s death draws his three grown sons a nd their families back to their ancestral home. Fenno, the eldest , a wry, introspective gay man, narrates the events of this unfor eseen reunion. Far from his straitlaced expatriate life as a book seller in Greenwich Village, Fenno is stunned by a series of reve lations that threaten his carefully crafted defenses. . .. Four y ears farther on, in yet another June, a chance meeting on the Lon g Island shore brings Fenno together with Fern Olitsky, the artis t who once captivated his father. Now pregnant, Fern must weigh h er guilt about the past against her wishes for the future and dec ide what family means to her. In prose rich with compassion and w it,Three Junes paints a haunting portrait of love?s redemptive po wers. From the Back Cover An astonishing first novel that traces the lives of a Scottish family over a decade as they confront th e joys and longings, fulfillments and betrayals of love in all it s guises. In June of 1989 Paul McLeod, a newspaper publisher and recent widower, travels to Greece, where he falls for a young Am erican artist and reflects on the complicated truth about his mar riage. . ..Six years later, again in June, Paul's death draws his three grown sons and their families back to their ancestral home . Fenno, the eldest, a wry, introspective gay man, narrates the e vents of this unforeseen reunion. Far from his straitlaced expatr iate life as a bookseller in Greenwich Village, Fenno is stunned by a series of revelations that threaten his carefully crafted de fenses. . .. Four years farther on, in yet another June, a chance meeting on the Long Island shore brings Fenno together with Fern Olitsky, the artist who once captivated his father. Now pregnant , Fern must weigh her guilt about the past against her wishes for the future and decide what family means to her. In prose rich wi th compassion and wit, Three Junes paints a haunting portrait of love's redemptive powers. About the Author Julia Glass is the a uthor of the best-selling Three Junes, winner of the 2002 Nationa l Book Award for Fiction; her previous novels include, most recen tly, And the Dark Sacred Night and The Widower's Tale. A teacher of fiction and a recipient of fellowships from the National Endow ment for the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Glass lives with her fami ly in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Excerpt. ® Reprinted by permis sion. All rights reserved. Chapter 1 Paul chose greece for its p redictable whiteness: the blanching heat by day, the rush of star s at night, the glint of the lime-washed houses crowding its coas t. Blinding, searing, somnolent, fossilized Greece. Joining a to ur-that was the gamble, because Paul is not a gregarious sort. He dreads fund-raisers and drinks parties, all occasions at which h e must give an account of himself to people he will never see aga in. Yet there are advantages to the company of strangers. You can tell them whatever you please: no lies perhaps, but no affecting truths. Paul does not fabricate well (though once, foolishly, he believed that he could), and the single truth he's offered these random companions-that recently he lost his wife-brought down a flurry of theatrical condolence. (A hand on his at the breakfast table in Athens, the very first day: Time, time, and more time. L et Monsignor Time do his tedious, devious work. Marjorie, a breat hy schoolmistress from Devon.) Not counting Jack, they are ten. Paul is one of three men; the other two, Ray and Solly, are appen ded to wives. And then, besides Marjorie, there are two pairs of women traveling together, in their seventies at least: a surprisi ngly spry quartet who carry oversize binoculars with which they o gle everything and everyone, at appallingly close range. Seeing t he sights, they wear identical, brand-new hiking boots; to the gr oup's communal dinners, cork-soled sandals with white crocheted t ops. Paul thinks of them as the quadruplets. In the beginning, t here was an all-around well-mannered effort to mingle, but then, sure as sedimentation, the two married couples fell together and the quadruplets reverted more or less to themselves. Only Marjori e, trained by profession to dole out affection equally, continues to treat everyone like a new friend, and with her as their muse, the women coddle Paul like an infant. His room always has the be st view, his seat on the boat is always in shade; the women alway s insist. The husbands treat him as though he were vaguely leprou s. Jack finds the whole thing amusing: Delightful, watching you c ringe. Jack is their guide: young and irreverent, thank God. Reve rence would send Paul over the edge. Even this far from home the re are reminders, like camera flashes or shooting pains. On the s treets, in the plazas, on the open-decked ferries, he is constant ly sighting Maureen: any tall lively blonde, any sunstruck girl w ith a touch of the brazen. German or Swedish or Dutch, there she is, again and again. Today she happens to be an American, one of two girls at a nearby table. Jack has noticed them too, Paul can tell, though both men pretend to read their shared paper-day befo re yesterday's Times. By no means beautiful, this girl, but she h as a garish spirit, a laugh she makes no effort to stifle. She we ars an eccentrically wide-brimmed hat, tied under her chin with a feathery scarf. (Miss Forties Nostalgic, Maureen would have pegg ed her. These gals think they missed some grand swinging party.) Little good the hat seems to have done her, though: she is sunbur nt geranium pink, her arms crazed with freckles. The second girl is the beauty, with perfect pale skin and thick cocoa-colored hai r; Jack will have an eye on that one. The girls talk too loudly, but Paul enjoys listening. In their midtwenties, he guesses, ten years younger than his sons. Heaven. I am telling you exquisite, says the dark-haired girl in a husky, all-knowing voice. A sensua l sort of coup de foudre. You go up on donkeys? Where? the blond e answers eagerly. This dishy farmer rents them. He looks like G iancarlo Giannini. Those soulful sad-dog eyes alone are worth the price of admission. He rides alongside and whacks them with a st ick when they get ornery. Whacks them? Oh just prods them a lit tle, for God's sake. Nothing inhumane. Listen-I'm sure the ones t hat hump olives all day really get whacked. By donkey standards, these guys live like royalty. She rattles through a large canvas satchel and pulls out a map, which she opens across the table. Th e girls lean together. Valley of the Butterflies! The blonde poi nts. Jack snorts quietly from behind his section of the Times. D on't tell the dears, but it's moths. Paul folds his section and lays it on the table. He is the owner and publisher of the Yeoman , the Dumfries-Galloway paper. When he left, he promised to call in every other day. He has called once in ten and felt grateful n ot to be needed. Paging through the news from afar, he finds hims elf tired of it all. Tired of Maggie Thatcher, her hedgehog eyes, her vacuous hair, her cotton-mouthed edicts on jobs, on taxes, o n terrorist acts. Tired of bickering over the Chunnel, over untap ped oil off the Isle of Mull. Tired of rainy foggy pewtered skies . Here, too, there are clouds, but they are inconsequential, each one benign as a bridal veil. And wind, but the wind is warm, mak ing a cheerful fuss of the awning over the tables, carrying loose napkins like birds to th, Anchor Books, 2003, 3, US: Vittorio Media Inc, 2010. Very Good. A copy that has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Have you ever believed that you can do more, be more, or have more? Do you see flashes of your lost brilliance in the accomplishments of others? Are you hiding your truth simply to keep the peace? If so, The Courage to be Brilliant is just for you. Marta Monahan, one of the USA's leading voices on personal achievement, shares her secrets for avoiding the dullness that comes from settling for less. Her Five Acts of Improvement begin working the moment you try them. You will also discover:. What holds you back and clouds your purpose. The Three Levels of Thought and how they affect your actions. How to develop your unique Five Acts of Improvement to alter the course of your life. Why radical changes never work. What to do if you cannot envision a life of brillianceMarta Monahan's clients include executives from NBC Studios, New Line Cinema, The Walt Disney Company, Century 21, Farmer's Insurance, and others. She was the keynote speaker for The Economist Magazine Leadership Forum in Singapore., Vittorio Media Inc, 2010, 3<
