Three Junes is a vividly textured symphonic novel set on both sides of the Atlantic during three fateful summers in the lives of a Scottish family. In June of 1989, Paul McLeod, the recently widowed patriarch, becomes infatuated with a young American artist while traveling through Greece and is compelled to relive the secret sorrows of his marriage. Six years later, Paul’s death reunites his sons at Tealing, their idyllic childhood home, where Fenno, the eldest, faces a choice that puts him at the center of his family’s future. A lovable, slightly repressed gay man, Fenno leads the life of an aloof expatriate in the West Village, running a shop filled with books and birdwatching gear. He believes himself safe from all emotional entanglements—until a worldly neighbor presents him with an extraordinary gift and a seductive photographer makes him an unwitting subject. Each man draws Fenno into territories of the heart he has never braved before, leading him toward an almost unbearable loss that will reveal to him the nature of love. Love in its limitless forms—between husband and wife, between lovers, between people and animals, between parents and children—is the force that moves these characters’ lives, which collide again, in yet another June, over a Long Island dinner table. This time it is Fenno who meets and captivates Fern, the same woman who captivated his father in Greece ten years before. Now pregnant with a son of her own, Fern, like Fenno and Paul before him, must make peace with her past to embrace her future. Elegantly detailed yet full of emotional suspense, often as comic as it is sad, Three Junes is a glorious triptych about how we learn to live, and live fully, beyond incurable grief and betrayals of the heart—how family ties, both those we’re born into and those we make, can offer us redemption and joy.
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"Really fantastic book. Three stories, 'Three Junes' as the title says, all taking place within one family. I loved the writing, the pacing was excellent and the characters truly fleshed out and personable. I could have spent more time with each! A top recommendation. "
— Alex (5 out of 5 stars)
" This was the first book before The Whole World Over. About three brothers, a gay guy and Scotland. "
— Vikki, 2/18/2014" It started off slow, and I had to force myself to stick with this book. I'm glad I did. Overall, I enjoyed it. Lacking a strong main plot, it didn't grab me until about halfway through Fenno's story. Then the subplots and peripheral characters started to make sense. In Fenno's section, the time shifts back and forth between present and past, and you often have to check your bearings on which decade you're in. The prose is lovely and deep, and I eventually became enchanted with Fenno and his world. "
— Karen, 2/16/2014" The first part of it was good, but my interest wasn't held in the second half. Didn't finish it. "
— Cyndi, 2/5/2014" three Junes in the lives of one family "
— Melanie, 2/4/2014" 3.5 stars. I didn't think I'd like this story as much as I did. It follows members of a Scottish family over three Junes, which are spread out over about 15 years (I think.) The second, longest June deals with a gay son living in 1990's New York. I didn't care for that character too much, but the writing was very good. "
— Marjie, 2/2/2014" on my ipod. "
— Sandra, 1/24/2014" This was a chore to get through. Depressing, unlikeable characters, and very thin plot. The family dynamics were lifeless and strange. The constant flashbacks were distracting and tiring. I would never have finished had it not been for my 100% record of finishing all the bookclub reads. "
— Tina, 1/14/2014" Apparently this book wasn't all that memorable since I took it with me at Christmas not remembering that I had already ready it. My first clue was the dog eared pages, and re-reading the first two paragraphs confirmed what I had suspected. "
— Deidra, 1/13/2014" I found this a very thought-provoking novel about a family and the different ways members of the family see the same event. The second section had some moments that were more sexually explicit than I like. "
— Vilo, 1/11/2014" outstanding. a must buy. "
— Christian, 12/17/2013" I tried. I really tried. Listened to this book on CD. The narrator does a fantastic job, but this book leaves me scratching my head. Don't bother. But if you like a story with no point and an unresolved ending, this book is for you! Why did this win an award???? "
— Ro, 12/7/2013Julia Glass is the author of several books, including Three Junes, which won the National Book Award for Fiction. She has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Her short fiction has won several prizes, including the Tobias Wolff Award and the Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society Medal for the Best Novella.
John Keating is an actor, voice talent, and AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator. His numerous acting credits include Roundabout Theatre’s production of Juno and the Paycock and La Mama ETC’s production of Cat and the Moon, as well as various parts with the Irish Repertory Theater and the Irish Arts Center. He can also be seen in the HBO miniseries John Adams, starring Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney.