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The Gravity of Birds: A Novel Audiobook
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Publisher Description
How do you find someone who wants to be lost?
Sisters Natalie and Alice Kessler were close, until adolescence wrenched them apart. Natalie is headstrong, manipulative, and beautiful; Alice is a dreamer who loves books and birds. During their family's summer holiday at the lake, Alice falls under the thrall of a struggling young painter, Thomas Bayber, in whom she finds a kindred spirit. Natalie, however, remains strangely unmoved, sitting for a family portrait with surprising indifference. But by the end of the summer, three lives are shattered.
Decades later, Bayber, now a reclusive, world-renowned artist, unveils a never before seen work: Kessler Sisters, a provocative painting depicting the young Thomas, Natalie, and Alice. Bayber asks art history professor Dennis Finch and eccentric young art authenticator Stephen Jameson to sell the painting for him. But that task becomes more complicated when the artist requires that they first locate Natalie and Alice, who seem to have vanished. Finch soon finds himself wondering why Thomas is suddenly so intent on resurrecting the past.
In The Gravity of Birds histories and memories refuse to stay buried; in the end only the excavation of the past will enable its survivors to love again.
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“The captivating prose of Tracy Guzeman’s firstnovel instantly pulls you into the lives of the Kessler sisters, Alice andNatalie, and their intertwined love story with Thomas Bayber, an attractiveyoung artist. Forty years later, as Bayber lies dying, he sends two trusted butdisparate colleagues to find a missing painting that the Kessler sisterspossess. Clandestine love affairs, painterly clues, and a world of untruthscome seamlessly together in this exceptional debut.”
— Minneapolis Star Tribune
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“[A] riveting debut novel.”
— Good Housekeeping -
“In this richly textured novel, two young sisters encounter art and their sensuality under the watchful gaze of a seductive painter. Forty-four years later, when a never-before-seen portrait of them is unveiled, a complex web of jealousy and heartache is exposed.”
— O, The Oprah Magazine -
“Talented…Incredibly assured…Her cast of endearing eccentrics and her stellar prose will win a loyal audience.”
— Booklist -
“Tracy Guzeman’s The Gravity of Birds is part mystery, part psychological drama and intriguing love story. This is a stunning debut. It’s a brilliant tale, written in evocative language, and every page is pure seduction. I want to scream from the rooftops: read this book!”
— Ellen Sussman, author of French Lessons -
“A lovely, mesmerizing novel. The Gravity of Birds combines the drama of warring sisters, the mystery of a missing painting, and the sorrow of lost love into a haunting elegy that will, like the artwork it describes, leave you breathless. The paintings and characters that Tracy Guzeman creates will seep into your imagination and take up permanent residence, changing the way you think about art.”
— Tiffany Baker, author of The Little Giant of Aberdeen County -
“Lovely! The Gravity of Birds is a warm-hearted, assured, and haunting debut. In prose that is always graceful and often breathtaking, Tracy Guzeman delivers a compelling story of the love of art and the art of love.”
— Meg Waite Clayton, author of The Wednesday Sisters -
“The Gravity of Birds is one of those rare, exquisitely written novels that haunt you long after you’ve finished the last page. Guzeman writes of both the fragility of the human spirit and its inner strength. The book unfurls like a hidden canvas, soaked with color, emotional longing, and a desire to make sense of what is often too painful to be said without the assistance of art. It is a novel not to be missed.”
— Alyson Richman, bestselling author of The Lost Wife
Awards
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Selected for the August 2013 Indie Next List
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An AudioFile Editors’ Pick, September 2013
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A Good Housekeeping Pick for August 2013
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About Tracy Guzeman
Tracy Guzeman lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her work has appeared in Gulf Coast, Vestal Review, and Glimmer Train Stories.
About Cassandra Campbell
Cassandra Campbell has won multiple Audie Awards, Earphones Awards, and the prestigious Odyssey Award for narration. She was been named a “Best Voice” by AudioFile magazine and in 2018 was inducted in Audible’s inaugural Narrator Hall of Fame.