In celebration of the release of her highlyacclaimed novel faith, please join us this is a discussion group with awardwinning author jennifer haigh. Baker towers by jennifer haigh although baker towers sounds like it should be set in an upscale apartment complex or perhaps an exclusive prep school, it actually takes place in a less glamorous, but equally evocative, setting the small coal mining town of. The living, breathing organism that is haighs captivating book is an effortlessly haunting story haigh is an expert natural storyteller. Baker towers is a family saga and a love story, a hymn to americas industrial past. Jan 28, 20 the essential reference for jennifer haighs new book of short stories, news from heaven, is her 2005 novel, baker towers. Jennifer haighs second novel is an intimate portrait of love and family, which will. Fast on the heels of her penhemingwaywinning if stagy first novel mrs. Apr 04, 2005 buy baker towers by haigh, jennifer isbn. Kimble, penhemingway award winner haigh uses evocative prose to create a picture of a company townand of the human conditionthat is both accurate and moving.
I was expecting baker towers to be about the experience of working in a coal mine, since it takes place in a mining town. Baker towers is a novel possessing a rare, quiet power to evoke a time long past and the character of the people who lived then. Jennifer haigh author jennifer haigh is the author of the new york times bestseller baker towers, winner of the 2006 penl. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Jan 16, 2004 jennifer haighs newest novel, baker towers, will certainly appeal to readers like my motherinlaw. She was born in barnesboro, a western pennsylvania coal town 85 miles northeast of pittsburgh in cambria county. First published in 2005, jennifer haighs second novel was hailed as a. Women trying to find their way in a dying coal town the. In a stunning followup to her bestselling debut,mrs. Baker towers is a family saga and a love story, a hymn to a time and place long gone, to americas industrial past, and to the men and women we now call the greatest generation. Jennifer haigh is the author of the shortstory collection news from heaven and four critically acclaimed novels. Her previous books include faith, the condition, baker towers and mrs. First published in 2005, jennifer haighs second novel was hailed as a modern classiccompassionate and powerful, according to the chicago tribune, a song of praise for a toolittlepraised part of america, for the working families whose toils and.
Kimble, 2003, haigh turns a careful, loving eye on the sociology of the town of bakerton, resting her focus most intently on the poles and italians who work together but live in. Almost mythic in its ambition, somewhere between oates and updike country, and thoroughly satisfying. First published in 2005, jennifer haighs second novel was hailed as a modern classiccompassionate and powerful, according to the chicago tribune, a song of praise for a toolittlepraised part of america, for the working families whose toils and constancy have done so much to make the country great. Washington post book world an elegant, elegiac multigenerational saga. Kimble, jennifer haigh returns with baker towers, a compelling story of love and loss in a western pennsylvania mining town in the years after world war ii bakerton is a company town built on coal, a town of church festivals and ethnic neighborhoods, hunters. In celebration of the release of her highlyacclaimed novel faith, please join us this is a discussion group. A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. Jennifer haigh baker towers is the book ive always. Her books have won both the penhemingway award for debut fiction and the penl.
In a stunning followup to her bestselling debut, mrs. Born and raised on bakertons polish hill, the five novak children come of age during. Kimble, jennifer haigh returns with baker towers, a compelling story of love and loss in a western pennsylvania mining town in the years after world war ii. See all books authored by jennifer haigh, including faith, and mrs. Ask jennifer haigh 67 members last activity may 05, 2020 02. The story wends its way through the lives of the novaks, a working class family who live in the polish hill area of bakerton, pennsylvania, a coalmining town. Jennifer haighs newest book, the novel heat and light, looks at a community divided by the controversy over fracking. Baker towers traces the lives of three generations in a community that tenderly echoes the american experience. Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors.
The essential reference for jennifer haighs new book of short stories, news from heaven, is her 2005 novel, baker towers. Jan, 2005 baker towers by jennifer haigh 334 pages. Last year, jennifer haigh impressed readers with her brilliant debut, mrs. Kimble, 2003, haigh turns a careful, loving eye on the sociology of the town of bakerton. Kimble 2003, jennifer haigh established herself as a writer to watch. Kimble, which won the penhemingway award for debut fiction and was also a finalist for the book sense book of the year. Jennifer haigh author of faith meet your next favorite book. Both books are about the life and times of bakerton, pa. Kimble, baker towers, the condition, faith, news from heaven jennifer haigh is an american novelist and short story writer.
Women trying to find their way in a dying coal town the new. With her second novel, haigh does it again differently, but just as well. Author jennifer haigh has told a searing family drama of love and faith, tragedy and pain and the eternal well of hope. Kimble, jennifer haigh returns with baker towers, a family saga set in coal mining bakerton, pa during the industrial boom following wwii. Library journal joanna m burkhardt in her second novel after mrs. Jennifer haigh talks about how she was inspired to write baker towers set in a pennsylvania coal mining tower after wwii because of her own family history and the stories told to her by her parents and relatives was baker towers inspired by your own family history. A bittersweet melancholy permeates jennifer haigh s elegantly understated baker towers. Baker towers bakerton stories by jennifer haigh book cover, description. But the real power and genius of this book is that it made me feel as if i were actually living in bakerton. Baker towers is the book ive always known i would write, but it wasnt an easy book to do. Winship award for outstanding book by a new england author. Baker towers by jennifer haigh overdrive rakuten overdrive. We deliver the joy of reading in 100% recyclable packaging. In earnest praise of jennifer haighs novel baker towers, the book s publisher cites a few talking points.
Jennifer haigh is the author of the new york times bestseller baker towers, winner of the 2006 penl. Kimble, which won the penhemingway award for debut fiction and was a finalis. It is a feat of imagination from an extraordinary voice in american fiction, a writer of enormous power and skill. She is the author of the short story collection news from heaven and four other criticallyacclaimed novels.
Baker towers by jennifer haigh book club discussion. Kimble, was an auspicious debut about three women who marry the same manconsecutivelyand their ability to kid themselves. But this is the forties when gender roles were more clearly defined than they are today and jennifer haigh opted to emphasize the experience of the women. In her second novel, haigh not only meets but surpasses the expectations established by her first book. Since then, this dazzling young novelist and short story writer has demonstrated an uncanny knack for creating rich, complex characters whose lives resonate with realworld rhythms. Baker towers focuses on an immigrant family from the company coal town of bakerton, pennsylvania. The novaks are a mixed family of sorts, begun by the marriage between a polish father and an italian mother which in the 1940s when this story begins is not particularly looked upon with favor by the community. Baker towers jennifer haigh paperback harpercollins publishers. Through exceptionally welldefined characters, the novel traces the demise of what was once an american institution. Head of the household stanley novak drops dead one afternoon after returning from the mines, leaving his italian wife, rose, to. Jennifer haigh audio books, best sellers, author bio. Read free book excerpt from baker towers by jennifer haigh, page 1 of 7. Baker towers jennifer haigh, 2005 harpercollins 368 pp. Baker towers bakerton stories by jennifer haigh fantastic fiction.
Head of the household stanley novak drops dead one afternoon after returning from the mines, leaving his italian wife, rose, to struggle on her own to feed her. An elegant, elegiac multigenerational saga about a small coalmining community in western pennsylvania that shows how talented she really is. Jennifer haigh books list of books by author jennifer haigh. Acclaimed new york times bestselling author jennifer haigh returns to the pennsylvania town at the center of her iconic novel baker towers in this ambitious, achingly human story of modern america and the conflicting forces at its heart a bold. Baker towers, the second book from novelist jennifer haigh, is a compelling saga of a polishitalian family, the novaks, with five children who come of age in a pennsylvania coalmining town during and after wwii. Baker towers book hennepin county library bibliocommons. Buy a cheap copy of baker towers book by jennifer haigh. Baker towers in a stunning followup to her bestselling debut, mrs. Kimble, jennifer haigh returns with baker towers, a compelling story of love and loss in a western.
Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read heat and light. It is a feat of imagination from an extraordinary voice in american fiction, a. Dec 30, 2004 baker towers by jennifer haigh is a family story. In earnest praise of jennifer haighs novel baker towers, the books. Baker towers baker towers audiobook, by jennifer haigh. Jan 01, 2006 in her second novel, haigh not only meets but surpasses the expectations established by her first book. Her books have won both the penhemingway award for debut fiction and the penl more about jennifer haigh. News from heaven by jennifer haigh the new york times. Kimble, 2003, haigh turns a careful, loving eye on the sociology of the town of bakerton, resting her focus most intently on the poles and italians who work. We personally assess every book s quality and offer rare, outofprint treasures. A family album peopled with vivid characters, this is the story of an america long past, a haunting meditation on the passage of time. Bakerton is a company town built on coal, a town of church festivals and ethnic neighborhoods, hunters breakfasts and firemens parades. Baker towers is an intimate exploration of love and family set in a western pennsylvania coal town in.