Reviews
"Reading about the sudden destruction of a world right in the middle of our own 21st century crisis helped me understand that the question we're asking now is one we've asked before: where do we go from here? Vera brings to vivid life a historical moment that defined a city, an era. It's an extraordinary glimpse into the American DNA." -- Mary Beth Keane, author of Ask Again, Yes, "Though it has a panoramic sweep, Carol Edgarian's Vera is a novel of great immediacy and heart. From the early scene at the opera, to its shocking real-world correlative, this novel exists in the zone - let's call it the world. In so many ways, it sings." -- Ann Beattie "Sisters, mothers, heroines, charlatans, buffoons, scam artists, prostitutes, and the uncontrollable, passionate brawn of a young nation: in Vera we see, taste, smell the marrow of a country intoxicated on hope--all evidence to the contrary. Amazingly, Edgarian has captured a rolling, earnest, perpetual ruin so complex it could just be called life. She's conjured another wonderful novel out of dust, history, love." -- Rick Bass "In Vera , the past is as alive as you are, the brilliantly illuminated characters loving and surviving, breaking and building, destroying and redeeming, in rich detail and true color. Vera's 1906 is a world we see and live in." -- Amy Bloom "A novel of resilience in the face of disaster, just what we need right now. Carol Edgarian's tale couldn't have come at a better time." -- T.C. Boyle "Brilliantly conceived and beautifully realized." -- Booklist, STARRED review "Vera is a triumph--a story of disaster and healing, power and humility, grit and grace set against the lush, lascivious backdrop of San Francisco during the 1906 earthquake. This book is as whip smart as its heroine and as electric as her city and will haunt me--in the best way--for a long time to come." -- Anna Solomon, author of The Book of V "Reading about the sudden destruction of a world right in the middle of our own 21st century crisis helped me understand that the question we're asking now is one we've asked before: where do we go from here? Vera brings to vivid life a historical moment that defined a city, an era. It's an extraordinary glimpse into the American DNA." -- M ary Beth Keane, author of Ask Again, Yes "The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 extinguishes all sense of normalcy for 15-year-old Vera Johnson, who must survive by sheer pluck and intelligence in the newly rattled landscape... . The novel shines in painting a vivid picture of early-20th-century San Francisco, including its rowdy politics." -- Kirkus Reviews, Praise for VERA "Set in San Francisco during the great quake and fire of 1906, this wonderfully compelling novel takes us deeply into the heart and mind of an unforgettable fifteen year old girl, one who must find her way alone through a mother's neglect, through bordellos and corrupt politicians, through the debris and ashes of what was once 'The Paris of the West.' Vera is that rare novel that you'll want to buy for loved ones just as soon as you reach its shimmeringly beautiful ending. And its streetwise, resilient protagonist will stay with you for a very long time indeed." -- Andre Dubus III, "Reading about the sudden destruction of a world right in the middle of our own 21st century crisis helped me understand that the question we're asking now is one we've asked before: where do we go from here? Vera brings to vivid life a historical moment that defined a city, an era. It's an extraordinary glimpse into the American DNA." --Mary Beth Keane, author of Ask Again, Yes, "Though it has a panoramic sweep, Carol Edgarian's Vera is a novel of great immediacy and heart. From the early scene at the opera, to its shocking real-world correlative, this novel exists in the zone - let's call it the world. In so many ways, it sings." -- Ann Beattie "Sisters, mothers, heroines, charlatans, buffoons, scam artists, prostitutes, and the uncontrollable, passionate brawn of a young nation: in Vera we see, taste, smell the marrow of a country intoxicated on hope--all evidence to the contrary. Amazingly, Edgarian has captured a rolling, earnest, perpetual ruin so complex it could just be called life. She's conjured another wonderful novel out of dust, history, love." -- Rick Bass "In Vera , the past is as alive as you are, the brilliantly illuminated characters loving and surviving, breaking and building, destroying and redeeming, in rich detail and true color. Vera's 1906 is a world we see and live in." -- Amy Bloom "A novel of resilience in the face of disaster, just what we need right now. Carol Edgarian's tale couldn't have come at a better time." -- T.C. Boyle "Brilliantly conceived and beautifully realized." -- Booklist, STARRED review "Vera is a triumph--a story of disaster and healing, power and humility, grit and grace set against the lush, lascivious backdrop of San Francisco during the 1906 earthquake. This book is as whip smart as its heroine and as electric as her city and will haunt me--in the best way--for a long time to come." -- Anna Solomon, author of The Book of V "Reading about the sudden destruction of a world right in the middle of our own 21st century crisis helped me understand that the question we're asking now is one we've asked before: where do we go from here? Vera brings to vivid life a historical moment that defined a city, an era. It's an extraordinary glimpse into the American DNA." -- M ary Beth Keane, author of Ask Again, Yes, "Sisters, mothers, heroines, charlatans, buffoons, scam artists, prostitutes, and the uncontrollable, passionate brawn of a young nation: in Vera we see, taste, smell the marrow of a country intoxicated on hope--all evidence to the contrary. Amazingly, Edgarian has captured a rolling, earnest, perpetual ruin so complex it could just be called life. She's conjured another wonderful novel out of dust, history, love." -- Rick Bass, "A novel of resilience in the face of disaster, just what we need right now. Carol Edgarian's tale couldn't have come at a better time." -- T.C. Boyle, "Vera is a triumph--a story of disaster and healing, power and humility, grit and grace set against the lush, lascivious backdrop of San Francisco during the 1906 earthquake. This book is as whip smart as its heroine and as electric as her city and will haunt me--in the best way--for a long time to come." -- Anna Solomon, author of The Book of V, "Though it has a panoramic sweep, Carol Edgarian's Vera is a novel of great immediacy and heart. From the early scene at the opera, to its shocking real-world correlative, this novel exists in the zone - let's call it the world. In so many ways, it sings." -- Ann Beattie, "Vera is a triumph--a story of disaster and healing, power and humility, grit and grace set against the lush, lascivious backdrop of San Francisco during the 1906 earthquake. This book is as whipsmart as its heroine and as electric as her city and will haunt me--in the best way--for a long time to come." -- Anna Solomon, author of The Book of V "Reading about the sudden destruction of a world right in the middle of our own 21st century crisis helped me understand that the question we're asking now is one we've asked before: where do we go from here? Vera brings to vivid life a historical moment that defined a city, an era. It's an extraordinary glimpse into the American DNA." -- Mary Beth Keane, author of Ask Again, Yes, "Part survival story, part story of a young woman's quest for love, this richly plotted historical novel is brilliantly conceived and beautifully realized. Edgarian brings the nearly destroyed San Francisco to vivid life, but it is Vera's own troubled life that is the main attraction and what will live in the reader's memory." -- Booklist, STARRED review "Part survival story, part story of a young woman's quest for love, this richly plotted historical novel is brilliantly conceived and beautifully realized. Edgarian brings the nearly destroyed San Francisco to vivid life, but it is Vera's own troubled life that is the main attraction and what will live in the reader's memory." -- Booklist, STARRED review "Vera is a triumph--a story of disaster and healing, power and humility, grit and grace set against the lush, lascivious backdrop of San Francisco during the 1906 earthquake. This book is as whipsmart as its heroine and as electric as her city and will haunt me--in the best way--for a long time to come." --Anna Solomon, author of The Book of V "Reading about the sudden destruction of a world right in the middle of our own 21st century crisis helped me understand that the question we're asking now is one we've asked before: where do we go from here? Vera brings to vivid life a historical moment that defined a city, an era. It's an extraordinary glimpse into the American DNA." --Mary Beth Keane, author of Ask Again, Yes, Praise for VERA "In addition to being an all-encompassing and enthralling historical novel, Vera parallels with the current era, and all of its accompanying losses." --O, The Oprah Magazine "Vera has always had to be scrappy and resourceful, even as a child. But the great earthquake of 1906 shakes even Vera, who is forced to imagine a new world for herself among an unlikely band of survivors." -- BuzzFeed "The author paints a vivid portrait of a metropolis teeming with sex workers, immigrants, corrupt politicians, and artists... The result makes for a stirring testament to a resilient city that never knew the meaning of the word quit." -- Publishers Weekly "Though it has a panoramic sweep, Carol Edgarian's Vera is a novel of great immediacy and heart. From the early scene at the opera, to its shocking real-world correlative, this novel exists in the zone - let's call it the world. In so many ways, it sings." -- Ann Beattie "Sisters, mothers, heroines, charlatans, buffoons, scam artists, prostitutes, and the uncontrollable, passionate brawn of a young nation: in Vera we see, taste, smell the marrow of a country intoxicated on hope--all evidence to the contrary. Amazingly, Edgarian has captured a rolling, earnest, perpetual ruin so complex it could just be called life. She's conjured another wonderful novel out of dust, history, love." -- Rick Bass "In Vera , the past is as alive as you are, the brilliantly illuminated characters loving and surviving, breaking and building, destroying and redeeming, in rich detail and true color. Vera's 1906 is a world we see and live in." -- Amy Bloom "A novel of resilience in the face of disaster, just what we need right now. Carol Edgarian's tale couldn't have come at a better time." -- T.C. Boyle "Brilliantly conceived and beautifully realized." -- Booklist, STARRED review "Vera is a triumph--a story of disaster and healing, power and humility, grit and grace set against the lush, lascivious backdrop of San Francisco during the 1906 earthquake. This book is as whip smart as its heroine and as electric as her city and will haunt me--in the best way--for a long time to come." -- Anna Solomon, author of The Book of V "Reading about the sudden destruction of a world right in the middle of our own 21st century crisis helped me understand that the question we're asking now is one we've asked before: where do we go from here? Vera brings to vivid life a historical moment that defined a city, an era. It's an extraordinary glimpse into the American DNA." -- M ary Beth Keane, author of Ask Again, Yes "The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 extinguishes all sense of normalcy for 15-year-old Vera Johnson, who must survive by sheer pluck and intelligence in the newly rattled landscape... . The novel shines in painting a vivid picture of early-20th-century San Francisco, including its rowdy politics." -- Kirkus Reviews, "In Vera , the past is as alive as you are, the brilliantly illuminated characters loving and surviving, breaking and building, destroying and redeeming, in rich detail and true color. Vera's 1906 is a world we see and live in." -- Amy Bloom, Praise for VERA "Set in San Francisco during the great quake and fire of 1906, this wonderfully compelling novel takes us deeply into the heart and mind of an unforgettable fifteen year old girl, one who must find her way alone through a mother''s neglect, through bordellos and corrupt politicians, through the debris and ashes of what was once ''The Paris of the West.'' Vera is that rare novel that you''ll want to buy for loved ones just as soon as you reach its shimmeringly beautiful ending. And its streetwise, resilient protagonist will stay with you for a very long time indeed." -- Andre Dubus III "In addition to being an all-encompassing and enthralling historical novel, Vera parallels with the current era, and all of its accompanying losses." --O, The Oprah Magazine "Vera has always had to be scrappy and resourceful, even as a child. But the great earthquake of 1906 shakes even Vera, who is forced to imagine a new world for herself among an unlikely band of survivors." -- BuzzFeed "The author paints a vivid portrait of a metropolis teeming with sex workers, immigrants, corrupt politicians, and artists... The result makes for a stirring testament to a resilient city that never knew the meaning of the word quit." -- Publishers Weekly "Though it has a panoramic sweep, Carol Edgarian''s Vera is a novel of great immediacy and heart. From the early scene at the opera, to its shocking real-world correlative, this novel exists in the zone - let''s call it the world. In so many ways, it sings." -- Ann Beattie "Sisters, mothers, heroines, charlatans, buffoons, scam artists, prostitutes, and the uncontrollable, passionate brawn of a young nation: in Vera we see, taste, smell the marrow of a country intoxicated on hope--all evidence to the contrary. Amazingly, Edgarian has captured a rolling, earnest, perpetual ruin so complex it could just be called life. She''s conjured another wonderful novel out of dust, history, love." -- Rick Bass "In Vera , the past is as alive as you are, the brilliantly illuminated characters loving and surviving, breaking and building, destroying and redeeming, in rich detail and true color. Vera''s 1906 is a world we see and live in." -- Amy Bloom "A novel of resilience in the face of disaster, just what we need right now. Carol Edgarian''s tale couldn''t have come at a better time." -- T.C. Boyle "Brilliantly conceived and beautifully realized." -- Booklist, STARRED review "Vera is a triumph--a story of disaster and healing, power and humility, grit and grace set against the lush, lascivious backdrop of San Francisco during the 1906 earthquake. This book is as whip smart as its heroine and as electric as her city and will haunt me--in the best way--for a long time to come." -- Anna Solomon, author of The Book of V "Reading about the sudden destruction of a world right in the middle of our own 21st century crisis helped me understand that the question we''re asking now is one we''ve asked before: where do we go from here? Vera brings to vivid life a historical moment that defined a city, an era. It''s an extraordinary glimpse into the American DNA." -- M ary Beth Keane, author of Ask Again, Yes "The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 extinguishes all sense of normalcy for 15-year-old Vera Johnson, who must survive by sheer pluck and intelligence in the newly rattled landscape... . The novel shines in painting a vivid picture of early-20th-century San Francisco, including its rowdy politics." -- Kirkus Reviews, "In addition to being an all-encompassing and enthralling historical novel, Vera parallels with the current era, and all of its accompanying losses." --O, The Oprah Magazine, "The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 extinguishes all sense of normalcy for 15-year-old Vera Johnson, who must survive by sheer pluck and intelligence in the newly rattled landscape... . The novel shines in painting a vivid picture of early-20th-century San Francisco, including its rowdy politics." -- Kirkus Reviews, "The author paints a vivid portrait of a metropolis teeming with sex workers, immigrants, corrupt politicians, and artists... The result makes for a stirring testament to a resilient city that never knew the meaning of the word quit." -- Publishers Weekly, "Vera has always had to be scrappy and resourceful, even as a child. But the great earthquake of 1906 shakes even Vera, who is forced to imagine a new world for herself among an unlikely band of survivors." --BuzzFeed
