Leland de la Durantaye
presents
Hannah Versus the Tree:
A Novel
in conversation with JAMES SULLIVAN
This event includes a book signing
DateFeb
8
Friday
February 8, 2019 7:00 PM ET |
LocationHarvard Book Store
1256 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138 |
Tickets
This event is free; no tickets are required.
|
Harvard Book Store and GrubStreet welcome acclaimed critic, translator, and professor LELAND DE LA DURANTAYE for a discussion of his debut novel, Hannah Versus the Tree. He will be joined in conversation by longtime contributor to the Boston Globe JAMES SULLIVAN.
About Hannah Versus the Tree
Hannah is a fiercely intelligent young woman, daughter of a powerful family's black sheep son, and raised to question who has been, is, and will be damaged by business deals meant to protect and maintain the dynasty. A devastating wrong is done to her when she opposes a family scheme and her response is a battle cry of astounding violence and beauty.
As haunting as Shelly Jackson or Thomas Bernhard, as enthralling as Nabokov or Joyce, Leland de la Durantaye's debut novel is a radical departure from contemporary storytelling. At once the story of a terrific act of vengeance and of a lifelong love, Hannah Versus the Tree presents a new literary genre, the mythopoetic thriller.
Praise
"Betrayal and vengeance have rarely been so elegantly rendered as in this searing novel. [Leland de la Durantaye] invokes Roman history and mythology to accompany an aristocratic, brutalized girl who is sacrificed by the family matriarch in a fatal flaw of judgment. The beautiful prose exposes and illumines the cost of underestimating an extraordinary girl." —Amy Hempel
"Hannah Versus the Tree is unlike anything I have ever read—thriller, myth, dream, and poem combined . . . Sometimes I thought I was reading the Chorus's part from a lost Greek tragedy, or perhaps an impossibly updated Beowulf. Written in an immaculate, lyrically charged, uncannily autonomous prose, this lovely novel is at once a modern story about money and politics and sexual violence, and an ancient fable of grievance and justice." —James Wood
Walking from the Harvard Square T station: 2 minutes
As you exit the station, reverse your direction and walk east along Mass. Ave. in front of the Cambridge Savings Bank. Cross Dunster St. and proceed along Mass. Ave for three more blocks. You will pass Au Bon Pain, JP Licks, and TD Bank. Harvard Book Store is located at the corner of Mass. Ave. and Plympton St.
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Harvard Book Store's New Voices in Fiction series, presented with GrubStreet, highlights debut fiction writers discussing their work and the writing process.
GrubStreet is one of the nation's leading creative writing centers, offering 500+ classes a year in all genres, for writers of all levels. We believe that narrative transforms lives, builds bridges, and produces empathy. By rigorously developing voices of every type and talent and by removing barriers to entry, GrubStreet fosters the creation of meaningful stories and ensures that excellent writing remains vital and relevant. To learn more or find a class, visit grubstreet.org.
Featured event books will be for sale at the event. Thank you for supporting this author series with your purchases.
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