Bookswap w/ Marian Palaia

This January, we have invited the incredible local author Marian Palaia to kick off the new year! Marian’s debut novel, The Given World, was shortlisted for the Saroyan International Prize for Fiction, longlisted for The PEN/Bingham First Novel Prize, and recognized by Kirkus as a 2015 Best Novel.

From a quiet family farm in Montana in the 60s to the grit and haze of San Francisco in the 70s to a gypsy-populated, post-war Saigon, The Given World spins around its unconventional and unforgettable heroine, Riley. When her big brother is declared MIA in Vietnam, young Riley packs up her shattered heart and leaves her family, her first love, and “a few small things” behind. By trial and error she builds a new life, working on cars, delivering newspapers, tending bar. She befriends, rescues, and is rescued by a similarly vagabond cast of characters whose “‘unraveled souls’ sting hardest and linger the longest” (The New York Times Book Review). Foolhardy, funny, and wise, Riley’s challenge as she grows into a woman is simple: survive long enough to go home again, or at least figure out where home is, and who might be among the living there.

Bring a book about being lost. As long as you love it, bring it to Bookswap. You’ll talk about it in groups and hear about the books that other people brought. We’ll drink a bunch of free wine and beer and get to know our guest author. At the end, we’ll have a big, rowdy, white elephant swap, and you’ll leave with a new favorite (or ten).

>>> Tickets are $10 and MUST BE purchased in advance. They do sell out! You can purchase them HERE.

**** Admission includes an open bar, swag, and 20% off everything you buy that night.