10/31/2016
In this suspenseful novel by Leavitt (Pictures of You), impulsive 16-year-old Lucy runs away with her high school English teacher, William, "the coolest teacher on the planet." It's 1969, and Lucy is itching to get away from the working-class suburb of Boston where she lives with her high-achieving older sister, Charlotte, and their elderly guardian, Iris. William, cautioning her that they'll both be in danger if they're caught, takes her to live in an isolated house in rural Pennsylvania, from which he goes out to teach at a progressive elementary school, leaving her to do housework, feed the chickens, write in her journal, and secretly take a job at a farm stand run by grieving young widower Patrick. Leavitt alternates among the points of view of Lucy, Charlotte, Iris, and Patrick. The first half of the novel is a model of restrained and matter-of-fact horror: Lucy has no idea how much danger she is in, but the reader does. Chapters from the points of view of Charlotte and Iris, who face more ordinary challenges, provide realistic respite from the drama. The second half of the novel loses momentum. Leavitt's evident determination to keep the plot tidy and tie up loose ends detracts from the initial willingness to confront ambiguity that makes the first half so bold. (Oct.)
It's 1969, and sixteen-year-old Lucy is about to run away with a much older man to live off the grid in rural Pennsylvania, a rash act that will have vicious repercussions for both her and her older sister, Charlotte. As Lucy's default caretaker for most of their lives, Charlotte's youth has been marked by the burden of responsibility, but never more so than when Lucy's dream of a rural paradise turns into a nightmare.
Cruel Beautiful World examines the intricate, infinitesimal distance between seduction and love, loyalty and duty, and explores what happens when you're responsible for things you cannot make right.
It's 1969, and sixteen-year-old Lucy is about to run away with a much older man to live off the grid in rural Pennsylvania, a rash act that will have vicious repercussions for both her and her older sister, Charlotte. As Lucy's default caretaker for most of their lives, Charlotte's youth has been marked by the burden of responsibility, but never more so than when Lucy's dream of a rural paradise turns into a nightmare.
Cruel Beautiful World examines the intricate, infinitesimal distance between seduction and love, loyalty and duty, and explores what happens when you're responsible for things you cannot make right.
Cruel Beautiful World
Narrated by Xe Sands
Caroline LeavittUnabridged — 10 hours, 5 minutes
Cruel Beautiful World
Narrated by Xe Sands
Caroline LeavittUnabridged — 10 hours, 5 minutes
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Overview
It's 1969, and sixteen-year-old Lucy is about to run away with a much older man to live off the grid in rural Pennsylvania, a rash act that will have vicious repercussions for both her and her older sister, Charlotte. As Lucy's default caretaker for most of their lives, Charlotte's youth has been marked by the burden of responsibility, but never more so than when Lucy's dream of a rural paradise turns into a nightmare.
Cruel Beautiful World examines the intricate, infinitesimal distance between seduction and love, loyalty and duty, and explores what happens when you're responsible for things you cannot make right.
Editorial Reviews
Backdropped by the Vietnam War and the Manson murders, Cruel Beautiful World is a fast-moving page-turner about the naiveté of youth and the malignity of power. Leavitt explores with a keen eye the intersection of love, family, and the anxiety of an era.”—Lily King, author of Euphoria “Tender and tragic, with a shooting star of hope, Leavitt's profound latest is about the connections of siblings, the mystery of love—first, last and dangerous—and the struggle to accept what can never be changed.”—Sara Gruen, author of At the Water’s Edge "With Cruel Beautiful World, Caroline Leavitt has done the seemingly impossible: she's written a gorgeous, seductive novel that is also terrifying and pulse-pounding. This is the kind of coming-of-age novel for which readers yearn: we witness the emotional and spiritual evolution a sixteen-year-old girl while American society, in the early 1970s, seems to devolve all around her. Like the era it represents, Cruel Beautiful World is at times hopeful and nihilistic, beautiful and savage, mesmerizing and dangerous."—Wiley Cash, New York Times bestselling author of A Land More Kind Than Home and This Dark Road to Mercy “Two sisters — impulsive Lucy and sensible Charlotte — make decisions that will haunt the rest of their lives. Set in the tumultuous late 1960s and early 1970s, Cruel Beautiful World is a riveting novel about love and loss, secrets and lies, and what it means to be a family. Its twists and turns will keep you reading late into the night.”—Christina Baker-Kline, author of Orphan Train “Nuanced and engrossing.”—People Magazine “The war in Vietnam, the Charles Manson murder trial and other touchstones of that era provide the backdrop for Cruel Beautiful World, Caroline Leavitt’s moving novel about three women connected by fate and a spate of tragic deaths. As in her other novels, including Pictures of You and Is This Tomorrow, Leavitt expertly draws us into the stormy lives of her female characters and deftly narrates their coming-of-age in a world in which women’s roles are changing.”—The Washington Post “The author of Is This Tomorrow and Pictures of You once again skillfully animates themes of disappearance, abandonment and loss. With Cruel Beautiful World, Leavitt successfully reminds the reader of the ephemeral and lifelong nature of sisterly love, and how it always leaves behind a certain kind of sadness and beauty.”—The San Francisco Chronicle “Riveting.”—Marie Claire “From its first sentence, Caroline Leavitt’s new novel, Cruel Beautiful World, draws the reader into a seductive page-turner that ripples with an undercurrent of suspense and is fueled by the foibles of the human heart. Though the novel unspools with the edge of a psychological thriller, read too quickly for plot and one might miss these nuanced moments of insight, which seed Leavitt’s prose like tips of crocuses pushing up through snow. Best to slow down and savor.”—The Boston Globe “Leavitt paints her characters with deep flaws and yet hugely redeeming qualities. The writing is rich and real and provocative, with scenes that bring tears of sadness and of joy as we watch America struggle with its growing pains and wonder if our young protagonist will make it through her own.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune “…a plot-driven exploration of how love can impel one to terrible depths and lofty heights. … the story moves along at a breathless clip…a compulsive yet touching page-turner. …a devastating portrayal of how at any age, we alone are responsible for how we let our love for the people in our lives affect us. Too few books truly challenge our own hearts, no matter how hard they may aim for them; Cruel Beautiful World hits its target.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “Caroline Leavitt knows how to pull a reader into the page. …an intense page-turner… Leavitt is on to something here — the vulnerability of young girls, sexually advanced, perhaps, but naïve when it comes to human nature. The novel reminds us, too, of our own peril. Oh, how thin the line between good fortune and tragedy; how tenuous our hold on a safe haven from life’s calamities.”—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel “Leavitt builds her story around characters who are warm and engaging but very much flawed. The 1960s setting provides a few unsettling details that murmur in the background — the Manson murders, the Kent State shootings — but this is essentially the timeless story of a family, one that's unorthodox and fractured but rings emotionally true.”—Tampa Bay Times “This hauntingly brilliant novel is one no reader should miss this fall. It speaks to one of the deepest human fears: What if you can’t repair the damage you caused? When 16-year-old Lucy wants to run away from her rural Pennsylvanian life, she risks ruining not only her future, but her sister’s as well. A vibrant portrait on the intricacies of family and the consequences of abandoning responsibility, Cruel Beautiful World will remind you of the value found in familial bonds.”—Coastal Living “Set in the same tumultuous period as Woodstock and the Manson family murders, Caroline Leavitt's astute family drama in Cruel Beautiful World is as vintage as a pair of bell-bottoms and as timeless as the bond between sisters. Leavitt (Is This Tomorrow) perfectly captures the essence of the teen years adults tend to look back on fondly through the lens of nostalgia, reminding the reader of the uncertainty, insecurity, naive expectations and broken dreams that came with growing up. Deeply resonant and quietly powerful, Cruel Beautiful World has the heart-pounding moments of a thriller and the heart-warming moments of a perfect coming-of-age story. In her 11th novel, Caroline Leavitt weaves an absorbing story of family, love and tragedy set at the dawn of the 1970s.”—Shelf Awareness “For fans of Emma Cline’s bestselling debut, The Girls, Caroline Leavitt’s Cruel Beautiful World offers another opportunity to spend time in the wild, off-kilter America of the late 1960s, the period when peace-and-love idealism began to curdle into something far less wholesome, a period reigned over in the collective imagination by Charles Manson. Leavitt’s title — and lovely period book cover — get it just right. Cruel Beautiful World is a page-turner — recommended reading for those reveling in the current literary ’60s revival.”—Newsday “Cruel Beautiful World is a masterwork, a book that is so well-crafted and emotionally resonant that the reader will be loathe to hand it off to the next willing reader until he or she has read it over again. Congratulations to Caroline Leavitt for an upstanding and inspiring literary masterpiece.”—Bookreporter.com “Cruel Beautiful World hits the sweet-spot between popular and literary fiction with finely honed writing, complexity of character motives, and enough guilt and secrecy to sustain the page-turning suspense.”—New York Journal of Books “This haunting examination of the duty we have to family—and the irreparable consequences we abandon it—will leave every mother moved.”—WorkingMother.com “Cruel Beautiful World is a mesmerizing story about love, family, and obsession.”—PopSugar.com “Part character drama, part thriller, Leavitt’s eleventh outing will keep you captivated.”—PopSugar.com A “compelling exploration of love and loyalty.”—Library Journal “Leavitt's most accomplished book yet, Cruel Beautiful World, is a seamless triumph of storytelling that follows an unusual family through a fraught and shapeshifting century. The edges and complications of their individual natures lead them towards fatal or redeemable choices. Some make it and some do not in this cruel, beautiful world.”—Gail Godwin, author of Flora “I was mesmerized by Caroline Leavitt’s new, breathtaking novel. She has spun a masterful web of seduction and loyalty, infatuation and love. At the same time Leavitt reveals how porous the line can be between truth and lies and how so much that happens between us is a matter of perspective. It is hard to read this novel and not think of Lolita and also of Dan Chaon’s psychological thriller, Await Your Reply. But this is more than a dark tale of predator and his victim. It is also about family and friendship, of sisters and that ties that bind. And in this end this poignant and complex novel is a story about how we tell stories and the narratives that become our lives.”—Mary Morris, author of The Jazz Palace “At once a page-turner that leaves you holding your breath, and a gorgeous meditation on love and family. Cruel Beautiful World had me in its thrall from start to finish.”—J. Courtney Sullivan, author of The Engagements “Cruel Beautiful World is a stunning novel about life, real life, the sort in which mistakes can bring unfair consequences and family loyalty is a source of tremendous grace. Leavitt is a magician at creating unforgettable characters, and the two sisters at the heart of this tale will stay with me in all their complicated humanity. A brave book, and a powerfully moving one.” —Robin Black, author of Life Drawing “Fierce and tender at once, Cruel Beautiful World flames with the sweetness of new love, smolders with bitter regret, and burns with all the mistakes in between. Peopled with gorgeously flawed characters, Caroline Leavitt's newest novel is a wonder of triumph and tragedy.” —Miranda Beverly-Whittemore, New York Times bestselling author of Bittersweet and June
"A mesmerizing story about love, family, and obsession." — Pop Sugar, one of 23 books you must read this Fall, Brenda Janowitz
"Reminiscent of Dan Chaon, Tayari Jones and Carol Rifka Brunt's Tell the Wolves I'm Home." — BookList
"Caroline's signature style ..pulls apart everyday lives and finds the deeper stories in them by getting into her characters' hearts and heads." —Bookreporter, Carol Fitzgerald
03/01/2017
Sixteen-year-old Lucy is drifting through her sophomore year of high school when her handsome English teacher takes an interest in her writing—and then in her. After Lucy and her teacher run off together, the teen's older sister, Charlotte, is devastated, unsure whether to pursue her college plans or stay with their adoptive mother, Iris, in the house Lucy left behind. It's 1969, a time when teenage girls were fleeing their conventional lives in search of peace and love. But Lucy's idyllic escape leads only to a lonely farmhouse where her older lover intends to keep her hidden until she turns 18. Lucy's narrative alternates with those of Charlotte and Iris, each of them grappling with sexuality, personal accomplishment, and the need to belong. Their individual tales are surprising, revealing the secret depths of each woman's interior life as well as characters' fledgling attempts to truly know one another. Leavitt ( Is This Tomorrow ; Girls in Trouble ) delivers another deeply introspective coming-of-age tale. VERDICT For readers hooked on novels set in the 1960s.—Diane Colson, City College, Gainesville, FL
Narrator Xe Sands's soothing voice and evocative performance of this novel about relationships, family, and loneliness are an audiobook lover's dream. In 1970, 16-year-old Lucy runs away from Boston to set up house with her English teacher, William, in rural Pennsylvania. Sands changes up her volume, pacing, and expression to create a range of moods that mirror each character's inner world after the teen disappears. Noteworthy are her portrayals of Lucy's oppressive isolation and dawning realization that William is not the man of her dreams, her older sister's distress and determination to find the girl, and their adoptive mother's worry and guilt about her own failures. Sands slips easily among the different viewpoints, including those of the men, building the tension and keeping listeners fully invested in Lucy's story. C.B.L. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940171332402 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HighBridge Company |
| Publication date: | 10/04/2016 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
Read an Excerpt
1969 Lucy runs away with her high school teacher, William, on a Friday, the last day of school, a June morning shiny with heat. She’s downstairs in the kitchen, and Iris has the TV on. The weather guy, his skin golden as a cashew, is smiling about power outages, urging the elderly and the sick to stay inside, his voice sliding like a trombone, and as soon as she hears the word elderly, Lucy glances uneasily at Iris. “He doesn’t mean me, honey,” Iris says mildly, putting more bacon to snap in the pan. “I’m perfectly fine.” Good, Lucy thinks, good, because it makes it that much easier for her to do what she’s going to do. Lucy is terrified, but she acts as if everything is ordinary. She eats the bacon, the triangles of rye toast, and the scrambled eggs that Iris leaves her, freckling them with pepper and pushing the lumpy curds around her plate. Lucy drinks the orange juice Iris pours for her and picks up the square multivitamin next to her plate, pretending to swallow it but then spitting it out in her napkin moments later because it has this silty undertaste. She wants to tell Iris to take more vitamins, since she won’t be around to remind her. It’s nearly impossible for her to believe that Iris turned seventy-nine in May. Everyone always says Iris barely looks in her late sixties, and just last week Lucy spotted an old man giving Iris the once-over at a restaurant, his eyes drifting over her body, lingering on her legs. Lucy knows three kids at school whose parents—far younger than Iris—have died suddenly: two fathers felled by heart attacks, a mother who suffered a stroke while walking the dog. Lucy knows that anything can happen and age is the hand at your back, giving you an extra push toward the abyss. She tells herself Iris will be fine. Iris hasn’t had to work for years, since receiving sizable insurance money from her husband, who died in his sixties. Plus, she has money from Lucy’s parents. Lucy had never heard her parents talk about Iris, but Iris told Lucy and Charlotte it was because she was only very distantly related. Lucy was only five when her parents died, Charlotte a year and a half older, and she doesn’t remember much about that life, though she’s seen the photos, two big red albums Iris keeps on a high shelf. She’s in more of the photos with her parents than Charlotte is, and she wonders whether that’s because Charlotte didn’t like being photographed then any more than she does now. There are lots of photos of Charlotte and Lucy together, jumping rope, sitting in a circle of dolls, laughing. But the photos of her parents alone! Her mother, winking into the camera, is all banana blond in a printed dress, her legs long and lean as a colt’s. Her father, burly and dark, with a mustache so thick it looks like a scrub brush, is kissing her mother’s cheek. They hold hands in the pictures. They smooch over a Thanksgiving turkey. They were at a supper club, dancing and having dinner, the girls at home with a sitter, when the fire broke out. Later, the news reports said it was someone’s cigarette igniting a curtain into flames so heavy most of the people there never made it out. When she thinks about her parents, Lucy feels as if there is a mosquito trapped and buzzing in her body. She tells herself the stories Charlotte has told her, the few Charlotte can remember. There was the time their parents took them to Florida and they rode ponies on the beach. The time they all went to New York City to look at the Christmas lights and Lucy cried because the multitude of Santa Clauses confused her. She has told herself all these stories so many times she can almost convince herself that she really remembers them. Iris has no stories about the girls’ parents. “Our lives were all so busy,” Iris says. “We just never got together.” Lucy glances at Iris bustling around the kitchen, pouring coffee, reaching for the sugar. She looks old, her skin lined, her hands embroidered with blue veins. Iris has never seemed old before, Lucy thinks. Iris took the girls to the park, she threw and sometimes caught Frisbees. The only thing she couldn’t do was take the girls to a movie in the evening, because she didn’t like driving at night. Plus, she preferred to go to bed early. Charlotte was always Iris’s “big-girl helper,” watching Lucy on the swings, running after her, and, a lot of the time, just sitting on one of the benches with Iris, the two of them with their heads dipped together, laughing, so that Lucy would have to stand on the swings and go higher just to blot out the surprise of being the odd person out. Iris turns the TV to another channel. She shakes her head when she sees the hippies on the news, a sudden influx of them congregated and camping out in Boston Common, spread out on the green lawn like wildflowers, all of them in tie-dyes and striped or polka-dot pants and bare feet, some of the girls in flowing dresses or minis so tiny they barely cover their thighs, but Lucy finds herself glued to the set. “Like sheep!” Iris says, pointing to the way the cops are herding the kids back onto the streets. “Look at how they dress!” Iris marvels. Lucy sighs. Iris wears jewel-tone silk dresses every day, or blouses and skirts. She’s always in low-heeled, strappy shoes. Her white hair is braided into a fussy ring around her head, like Heidi, and her earrings are always button ones, instead of the long, jangly ones Lucy wears. “Look at that one,” Iris says when the camera focuses on a boy with ringlets skimming his shoulders. “What a world,” Iris marvels, and she shuts the set off. But Lucy loves the way the hippies look, the multitude of rings on their toes and fingers, the clashing clothes. These kids are part of a life glittering just inches away from her, and all she has to do is grab hold, the way she does with William’s hair, thick and shiny as satin. She can almost feel her hands in it, tugging him closer to kiss her. She wants to tell Iris and Charlotte. She wants to tell someone, but she can’t. Iris hands Lucy a brown paper bag filled with a peanut butter sandwich and an apple, the same lunch Lucy’s had since elementary school. Iris sits down and pulls out the crossword puzzle from the daily newspaper. This is her favorite part of the day. She picks up a pencil and chews on the end and then glances at Lucy again. “Honey, go find a hairbrush before you go,” Iris says. Lucy pats down her cap of curls and then sits and finishes her juice. She looks around the kitchen as if she’s memorizing every detail—the oak table and chairs, the braided rug—because until she’s eighteen, just two years from now, when no one can legally stop her from being with William, she won’t see this room again.
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