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“Hoffman has transcended her own genre.”*
ALICE HOFFMAN
THE THIRD ANGEL
“Elegant and stunning.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) |
“Not only is Hoffman spellbinding in this incandescent fusion of dark romance and penetrating psychic insight, she also opens diverse and compelling worlds, dramatizes the shocks and revelations that forge the self, and reveals the necessity and toll of empathy and kindness.”
— Booklist* |
“THE THIRD ANGEL is brilliantly crafted, deeply moving, and utterly enchanting. I loved these characters for their complexity, their unpredictability and for the way they showed subtle and shifting nuance in human nature. One of the best things about Alice Hoffman’s writing is that she grounds you in detail and also frees your imagination to soar to places it has never been — often simultaneously. Reading her is immensely satisfying—and addictive!”
— Elizabeth Berg |
Over the course of her remarkable career, Alice Hoffman has given pleasure to so many readers with her exceptionally powerful and provocative storytelling. From her first novel, Property Of, written at age twenty-one, to Here on Earth, an Oprah Book Club selection and a huge bestseller, to The River King and her acclaimed last novel, Skylight Confessions, Hoffman has created her own brand of magical fiction that reveals the heartbreak as well as the redemptive power of love.
Now in her newest novel, THE THIRD ANGEL (Shaye Areheart/Crown; April 8, 2008: $25.00), Hoffman is back with an engrossing tale of romance and the laws of attraction. Set in London, the novel goes back through time to tell the interwoven stories of three smart, strong women, who all find themselves madly in love with the wrong men.
The novel begins in 1999 as Madeleine Heller, a New York attorney, flies to London to carry out Maid-of-Honor duties for her sister, Allie, a famous children’s book author. Maddy is instantly, shockingly attracted to Allie’s fiancé, Paul, and must cope with the impending marriage as well as Paul’s terminal illness, only just now revealed.
Then Hoffman takes the reader back to 1966 and introduces us to Frieda (who, it turns out, is Paul’s mother), a university drop-out working as a maid in London’s Lion Park Hotel, a landmark which figures prominently throughout the novel. Frieda falls in love with a drug-addicted rock star, who is living at the hotel and suffering from severe writer’s block and, who, is also engaged to one of the wealthy Ridge girls from Kensington. Frieda becomes his muse in an attempt to save his career – and earn his love.
Lastly, we arrive in 1952 London and settle in at the Lion Park again, where twelve-year-old Lucy Green is in town to attend her stepmother’s sister’s wedding. A precocious girl who is obsessed with Anne Frank and still in mourning for her mother though her father has moved on and remarried, Lucy witnesses a terrible accident for which she blames herself. With Lucy Green, Hoffman has created an unforgettable young heroine and, through her soulful eyes, reveals the wrongs of the adult world. Her moving story – and that of Maddy and Frieda – resonate long after the book is finished.
A riveting novel that explores the chemical attraction between two people, the lingering ache of heartbreak as well as the healing power of love, THE THIRD ANGEL is a testament to the prodigious gifts of one of our most admired storytellers.
Alice Hoffman is the author of twenty-five works of fiction. She divides her time between Boston and New York City.
THE THIRD ANGEL
Shaye Areheart Books/Crown
April 8, 2008
$25.00/hardcover
Alice Hoffman will be touring to the following cities this spring:
| Boston |
Denver |
| New York City |
Los Angeles |
| Atlanta |
Portland, OR |
| Appleton, WI |
Seattle |
| Bethesda, MD |
Providence, RI |
| Burlington, MA |
Manchester, VT |
| Holyoke, MA |
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