The Sixteenth of June, Maya Lang
The Sixteenth of June, Maya Lang
1 Rating(s)
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The Sixteenth of June

Author: Maya Lang

Narrator: Maya Lang

Unabridged: 8 hr 15 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/03/2014

Categories: Fiction, Family Life

Synopsis

A finely observed, wry social satire set in Philadelphia over the course of a single day, this soaring debut novel paints a moving portrait of a family at a turning point.Leopold Portman, a young IT manager a few years out of college, dreams of settling down in Philly’s bucolic suburbs and starting a family with his fiancée, Nora. A talented singer in mourning for her mother, Nora has abandoned a promising opera career and wonders what her destiny holds. Her best friend, Stephen, Leopold’s brother, dithers in his seventh year of graduate school and privately questions Leo and Nora’s relationship. On June 16, 2004, the three are brought together—first for a funeral, then for an annual Bloomsday party. As the long-simmering tensions between them come to a head, they are forced to confront the choices of their pasts and their hopes for the future.Clever, lyrical, and often hilarious, The Sixteenth of June is a feat of storytelling and a sharp depiction of modern American family life. It delves into the tensions and allegiances of friendships, the murky uncertainty of early adulthood, and the yearning to belong. This remarkable novel offers a nod to James Joyce's celebrated classic, Ulysses, and it is about the secrets we keep and the lengths we’ll go to for acceptance and love.

About Maya Lang

Maya Lang is the first-generation daughter of Indian immigrants. She was awarded the 2012 Bread Loaf–Rona Jaffe Foundation Scholarship in Fiction and was a finalist for Glimmer Train’s Short Story Award for New Writers. She holds a PhD in comparative literature and lives in New York with her husband and daughter.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Stephanie on February 19, 2014

Spoiler-free summary: Taking place in a single day, Maya Lang's debut novel, The Sixteenth of June explores the relationship between the members of a wealthy family in Philadelphia. Leo is the simplistic, humble son who yearns for "normalcy," which, to him is a life away from the gilt and glamour of......more

Goodreads review by Pamela on September 10, 2016

I was able to read an advance copy of this novel, and I gave it a blurb. Here is what I said: “The Sixteenth of June celebrates people who don’t easily fit our culture’s definitions of happiness and success, who have to fight their way to a sense of self they can live with. Combining the narrative se......more

Goodreads review by Ross on July 04, 2014

I had the privilege of seeing Maya Lang’s reading at Elliot Bay Bookstore, and in speaking about the book I remember her mentioning that the three central characters—Nora, Leo, and Stephen—were struggling to find a way to navigate through the expectations put upon their lives by their families and f......more

Goodreads review by Thor on August 18, 2014

I have read a number of books by young(ish) American female authors lately and generally been a bit disappointed. Somehow I have felt a distance towards the content, the books have felt a bit inauthentic; my willing suspension of disbelief has been unwilling, I haven’t been able to rid myself of the......more

Goodreads review by Helle on October 08, 2014

This was rather a wonderful novel. It begins with a dedication to all of those readers (including me) who never made it through Ulysses, and that immediately drew me in rather than deterring me for fear of not getting any allusions to that most iconic of novels (which incidentally has been staring a......more

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