Author Talk with Jennifer Vanderbes,
author of Strangers at the Feast
Weds., September 1st, 2010, at 7:30 PM
Radcliffe Wing, Perrot Memorial Library
Perrot Memorial Library is pleased to present Jennifer Vanderbes, who will be talking about her stunning new novel, Strangers at the Feast.
Extra copies of the book will be available for check out at the library and will also be available at Just Books, on Arcadia Road in Old Greenwich. Copies of the book will also be available for purchase at the event.
About the Book:
It’s Thanksgiving Day, 2007, and three generations of the Olson family have gathered to celebrate. While the white, middle-class Olsons are busy cooking and silently nursing various long-standing resentments, Kijo and Spider, two black teenagers from the city’s housing projects, are breaking into Douglas Olson’s lavish home nearby. But this is not a random burglary—a complex personal history with Douglas has driven Kijo into that house. “You can push me and shove me and sweep me out of sight, but one day you come home and realize, I’m still here,” Kijo thinks to himself. The ensuing confrontation turns shockingly violent; even more disturbing is the way this novel contorts our preconceptions about “criminals” and “victims” and forces us to ask ourselves: How far would you go to defend your family? How far is too far? Family conflict, fascinating social commentary, and a riveting plot converge in Jennifer Vanderbes’ stunning novel, a thriller that also raises large and haunting questions about the meaning of guilt, innocence, and justice.
