Richard Russo and That Old Cape Magic presented by the King's English Bookshop

Start: Oct 6 2009 7:00 pm

End: Oct 6 2009 8:00 pm

Location:

Street:: 15th Street Gallery
Additional:: 1500 East 1519 South
City:: Salt Lake City
Province:: Utah
Postal Code:: 84105
Country:: United States

One of the most respected names in contemporary American literature--Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Russo will read from and sign his new book at The King's English Bookshop, Tuesday, October 6 at 7 p.m.

This event is free and open to the public.

That Old Cape Magic, currently in its sixth week on The New York Times best seller list, accompanies Jack Griffin, a middle-aged professor in a humdrum marriage, on a drive to Cape Cod for the wedding of his daughter's best friend. He's flooded with memories of his annual childhood vacations on the Cape with his parents--bickering, intellectually snobbish academics who are dismissive of each other and the world at large. More than anything, Jack doesn't want to be like them, but with his father's ashes in the trunk (in nearly a year, he hasn't been able to decide where to scatter them), and his demanding mother just a cell phone call away, he's unable to escape their influence.

Calling Russo "A master of the comic quip and the ridiculous situation," the Washington Post said That Old Cape Magic is "a marvelous portrayal of the strands of affection and irritation that run through a family, entangling in-laws and children's crushes and even old friends."

Russo's tragicomic take on life and careful eye for relationships are a trademark of much of his work, which includes seven novels and several screenplays and teleplays. Much of his fiction, like Empire Falls, which won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, chronicles small town America, fictional down-on-their-luck towns of the industrial Northeast and the blue-collar workers trying to survive in them as they face money, marriage, class and other daunting issues.

Book List