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Publication Date: August 30, 2022
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Genre: Literary Fiction, LGBTQ
Retail Price: $19.99 Trade Paperback
ISBN-13: 9781639885268
Page Count: 376
Distribution: Ingram
Birkmyer’s poignant third installment in Comfrey, Wyoming series delivers kaleidoscopic settings and a heartfelt coming-of-age story as twins Amadeus and Marcela set out on very different paths to self-discovery. The sibling pair, Amadeus and Marcela, are on the cusp of adulthood, much to the chagrin of their guardian Heidi Crow, who wants nothing but their safety. But with Marcela ready for her gender affirming surgery and Amadeus trying to find his footing in Alaska’s lucrative and dangerous fishing industry, Heidi can only hope for the best. Employing a tongue-in-cheek first-person narrative in alternating voices that sheds light on the characters’ complex lives, Birkmyer explores issues of LGBTQ, identity, self-discovery, self-perception, people’s opinion along with themes of love, hope, desire, and dreams. There is an underlying sense of melancholy to the narrative as the twins open themselves to new ideas and possibilities, but there’s also a slice-of-life quality to the storyline that gives the novel both light-headedness and freshness. Birkmyer does a wonderful job depicting the twins’ vulnerability and Heidi’s fierce heart, while capturing the rhythms of life in rural Wyoming. Fans of finely constructed literary fiction won’t want to miss this multilayered tale of love, life, family, and friendship.
***
Categories: literary fiction
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