Liquid, Fragile, Perishable
Available May 14, 2024, from Melville House
A vivid and moving portrayal of the intricate web of relations and fate in a small New England town, told with interlocking storylines in a unique and mesmerizing voice of uncommon power… this coruscating debut conveys the hopes, the sadness, and the secrets of a whole great world.
“I’ve spent my life in towns like this, and so so much rings true—hard, sweet, right.”
—Bill McKibben, author of Radio Free Vermont
“The narrative moves like the river that runs through the town: gentle at first, then harsh and unforgiving. At times dark, at other times beautiful, Kuebler’s debut shines in its precision.” —Kirkus, starred review
“Kuebler’s prose is visual, astute, and rich. Family drama, mystery, and subtle foreshadowing carry readers headlong to the conclusion.” —Booklist
“It was a delight to spend time in the world of this novel, with both its sadness and joy… Her wonderful characters, beautiful landscapes, and portrait of rural life will stay with me.” —Lydia Kiesling, author of Mobility
“A true-to-life, richly detailed American tale in the tradition of Sherwood Anderson, Willa Cather, and Thornton Wilder… Kuebler’s genius as a writer is to make readers believe that the harrowing story of Glenville, Vermont, is both their own and one essential for our time.” —Michael Collier, author of The Wild Mountain
Carolyn Kuebler was a co-founder of the literary magazine Rain Taxi and for the past ten years she has been the editor of the award-winning New England Review. Her stories and essays have been published in The Common and Colorado Review, among others, and “Wildflower Season,” published in The Massachusetts Review, won the 2022 John Burroughs Award for Nature Essay. She lives in Middlebury, Vermont. Liquid, Fragile, Perishable is her first novel.
photo credit Karen Pike