Authors Hermione Hoby (Neon in Daylight) and Kathleen Rooney (Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk) discuss their characters, deeply-observed women, walking and living in the gritty and glorious New York City, a character in itself.
Why should you attend?
“A radiant first novel… [Neon in Daylight] has antecedents in the great novels of the 1970s: Renata Adler’s Speedboat, Elizabeth Hardwick’s Sleepless Nights, Joan Didion’s Play It as It Lays…. Precision—of observation, of language—is Hoby’s gift. Her sentences are sleek and tailored. Language molds snugly to thought.” —Parul Sehgal, The New York Times
“What do you get when a writer of extreme intelligence, insight, style and beauty chronicles the lives of self-absorbed hedonists—The Great Gatsby, Bright Lights, Big City, and now Neon in Daylight. Hermione Hoby paints a garish world that drew me in and held me spellbound. She is a marvel.” —Ann Patchett, author of Commonwealth
“Extraordinary…hilarious…Elegantly written, Rooney creates a glorious paean to a distant literary life and time—and an unabashed celebration of human connections that bridge past and future. —Publishers Weekly (starred and boxed)
“Lillian’s wide-ranging meditations are reason enough to read this charming novel, but it’s also like taking a street-level tour through six decades of New York.”
—The New York Times
This event is part of the 2018 Virginia Festival of the Book. A full schedule of events is available here.