Books

This Bright River

A Novel
By Patrick Somerville (Audiobook, 2012)
A compelling story of young love and old secrets

Ben Hanson's aimless life has bottomed out after a series of bad decisions, but an unexpected offer from his father draws him home to Wisconsin. There, he finds his family fractured, still reeling from his cousin's mysterious death a decade earlier.

Lauren Sheehan abandoned her career in medicine after a series of violent events abroad. Now she's back in the safest place she knows -- the same small Wisconsin town where she and Ben grew up -- hiding from a world that has only brought her heartache.

As Lauren cautiously expands her horizons and Ben tries to unravel his family's dark secrets, their paths intersect. Could each be exactly what the other needs?

A compelling family drama and a surprising love story, This Bright River is the work of a natural storyteller, one whose dark humor and piercing intelligence provide constant, lasting delights.
Full Description
Buy This Book

A compelling story of young love and old secrets

Ben Hanson's aimless life has bottomed out after a series of bad decisions, but an unexpected offer from his father draws him home to Wisconsin. There, he finds his family fractured, still reeling from his cousin's mysterious death a decade earlier.

Lauren Sheehan abandoned her career in medicine after a series of violent events abroad. Now she's back in the safest place she knows -- the same small Wisconsin town where she and Ben grew up -- hiding from a world that has only brought her heartache.

As Lauren cautiously expands her horizons and Ben tries to unravel his family's dark secrets, their paths intersect. Could each be exactly what the other needs?

A compelling family drama and a surprising love story, This Bright River is the work of a natural storyteller, one whose dark humor and piercing intelligence provide constant, lasting delights.

Patrick Somerville grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and later earned his MFA from Cornell University. He is also the author of the story collection Trouble (Vintage, 2006), the novel The Cradle (Little, Brown, 2009), and the story collection The Universe in Miniature in Miniature (Featherproof Books, 2010), and his writing has appeared in One Story, Epoch, and The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2007. He lives with his wife in Chicago, where he teaches creative writing at Northwestern University.


  • THIS BRIGHT RIVER by Patrick Somerville

  • PRAISE FOR THE CRADLE:

    "[A] magical debut novel...A deeply gratifying modern fable...with the light, graceful touch that makes Mr. Somerville, also the author of a short-story collection ("Trouble"), someone to watch. ..As a small novel with unexpectedly wide range, "The Cradle" mixes the profound emotional pull of parent-child connections with comically eccentric touches."
      --- Janet Maslin, New York Times

Formats

Product Details

This Bright River
  • Publisher: Hachette Audio
  • Price: $26.98 US/$29.98 CAN
  • Audio Run Time: 810
  • ISBN-13: 9781611134575
  • On Sale Date: 06/26/2012
Also By This Author
This Bright River
© 2013 Hachette Book Group