Maria Semple – författare

Adora Hazzard has it all figured out. A Stoic philosopher and divorcée, she lives a contented life on New York City’s Upper West Side. Having discovered that the secret to happiness is to desire only what you have, she’s applied this insight to blissful effect: relishing her teenage daughter, the freedom of being solo, and her job as a moral tutor for the twin boys of an old-money family. She’s even assembled a “coven”—like-minded women who live on the same floor in the legendary Ansonia—and is making active efforts to grow its membership. Adora’s carefully curated life is humming along brilliantly until a chance meeting with a handsome stranger. Soon, her ordered world is upended by black-market art deals, secret rendezvous, and international intrigue . . . and her past—which she has worked so hard to bury—lands like a bomb in her present. Inflamed by unquenchable desire, Adora finds herself a woman wanting more: and she’ll risk everything to get it. Adora Hazzard’s journey of self-discovery will grip you from the start. Romantic, hilarious, intelligent, and bursting with the stuff of life, Go Gentle is a thrilling story of one woman’s mid-life transformation, cementing Maria Semple in the pantheon of our most exciting and important contemporary writers.

A NEW YORK TIMES bestsellerShortlisted for the 2013 Women''s Prize for FictionNow a major motion picture, directed by Richard Linklater and starring Cate Blanchett, Kristen Wiig and Billy Crudup''Like A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD written by Tina Fey'' RED MAGAZINEBernadette Fox is notorious. To Elgie Branch, a Microsoft wunderkind, she''s his hilarious, volatile, talented, troubled wife. To fellow mothers at the school gate, she''s a menace. To design experts, she''s a revolutionary architect. And to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, quite simply, mum. Then Bernadette disappears. And Bee must take a trip to the end of the earth to find her.WHERE''D YOU GO, BERNADETTE is a compulsively readable, irresistibly written, deeply touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter''s place in the world.

Eleanor Flood knows she''s a mess. But today will be different. Today she will shower and put on real clothes. She will attend her yoga class after dropping her son, Timby, off at school. She''ll see an old friend for lunch. She won''t swear. She will initiate sex with her husband, Joe. But before she can put her modest plan into action - life happens.For today is the day Timby has decided to pretend to be ill to weasel his way into his mother''s company. It''s also the day surgeon Joe has chosen to tell his receptionist - but not Eleanor - that he''s on vacation. And just when it seems that things can''t go more awry, a former colleague produces a relic from the past - a graphic memoir with pages telling of family secrets long buried and a sister to whom Eleanor never speaks.

The sparkling debut novel of Maria Semple, author of the WOMEN''S PRIZE FOR FICTION-shortlisted WHERE''D YOU GO, BERNADETTE, including reading group notes.Violet Parry is living the quintessential life of luxury in the Hollywood Hills with David, her rock-and-roll manager husband, and her darling toddler, Dot. She has the perfect life - but she''s deeply unhappy. David expects the world of Violet but gives little of himself in return. When she meets Teddy, a roguish small-time bass player, Violet comes alive, and soon she''s risking everything for the chance to find herself again. Also in the picture are David''s hilariously high-strung sister, Sally, on the prowl for a successful husband, and Jeremy, the sportscaster savant who falls into her trap.

Eleanor știe ca e o catastrofă. Dar azi, ea va lua lucrurile pas cu pas. Va face duș și își va pune hainele potrivite. Va merge la lecția de poezie și la yoga, dupa ce îl va fi lasat la școala pe fiul ei, Timby. Nu va înjura. Va face sex cu soțul ei, Joe. Darînainte ca Eleanor sa-și poata pune planul modest în aplicare, viața o ia prin surprindere. Azi, se pare, este ziua în care Timby s-a gândit sa se prefaca bolnav, ca sa stea cu mama lui. Este și ziua în care Joe a decis sa spuna la birou – dar nu și lui Eleanor – ca este în vacanța. Tocmai când se pare ca lucrurile nu pot merge mai rau, întâlnirea cu un fost coleg aduce în actualitate o poveste dramatica ce amenința sa dezvaluie un secret de familie adânc îngropat. Azi va fi altfel este o poveste hilara, emoționanta despre reinventare, relația dintre surori și despre cum uneori trebuie sa ne confruntam cu trecutul nostru pentru a începe cu adevarat sa traim.Scrierea unui roman comic care sa reușeasca sa ne implice emoțional nu e o sarcina ușoara, dar Semple reușește cubrio. Azi va fi altfel este hilar, emoționant și perfect scris, dovada ca Semple este unul dintre cei mai buni romanciericomici contemporani ai Americii.

Când Bee, fiica de cincisprezece ani a lui Bernadette, îi cere mamei ei să plece în excursia cu familia pe care i-a promis-o dacă obține rezultate bune la școală, aceasta din urmă începe să facă pregătiri frenetice pentru călătorie. Agorafobă și extenuată de viața în Seattle pe care nu și-a dorit-o niciodată, Bernadette este în pragul unei crize de nervi până când, într-o bună zi, dispare de acasă. Iar lui Bee nu-i rămâne decât să pună cap la cap e-mailuri, documente oficiale și scrisori pentru a dezvălui trecutul secret pe care Bernadette l-a ascuns timp de zeci de ani.Unde ai dispărut, Bernadette? este un roman ingenios și antrenant despre o familie ai cărei membri ajung să se accepte așa cum sunt, și despre puterea iubirii unei fiice pentru mama ei nu tocmai perfectă.