December 21, 2004
Jean Harfenist Recommends
"I regularly give away copies of Weeds by Edith Summers Kelley," Harfenist says. "It's an old book (first published in 1923) about the daughter of a tobacco tenant farmer in 1920s Kentucky and it's the unblinking, outspoken story of a superior young woman trapped by her body and her culture. With the emotional accuracy of Sister Carrie—and without a sniff of sentimentality or self-pity—it triggers something so strong that readers either love it or hate it. And that’s the sign of a book worth reading."
Jean Harfenist's novel-in-stories, A Brief History of the Flood, received wide critical acclaim when it appeared in 2002. Michiko Kakutani called it "wonderfully wry-melancholy," and declared it "an auspicious and stirring debut." Harfenist is a native of Minnesota, a graduate of New York University, and now lives in Santa Barbara with her husband.
If you'd like to recommend an underappreciated book for this series, please send mail to llalami at yahoo dot com.
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