The National Book Awardโfinalist movingly examines the lives of a group of New Yorkers deeply affected by one womanโs troubled lifeโand death.
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Marian is haunted by an unspoken past reflected in the choices she makes. Whether itโs her drug addiction or her dubious affairs, she finds herself increasingly adrift and alone. Yet in a city of millions, her story plays a part in the lives of others.
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Jaded cops who register Marian at a glance, a lover who agonizes over her abortion, a close friend stunned by her tragic overdose, a panhandling dwarf making the rounds in her Upper West Side neighborhoodโeach story weaves back and forth through time, revealing a compelling, compassionate portrait of one womanโs tragic fate.
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In a novel whose โstructure combines delicacy and great tensile strengthย .ย .ย . Bellโs voice is increasingly diverse, accurate and, in this book of mourning, powerfully movingโ (Publishers Weekly). One of Americaโs finest storytellers shows once again that he is a writer of โsuperb commandโ (The New York Times).