Bertrand Court

The secrets of a cast of politicos, filmmakers, realtors, diversity trainers, and housewives intertwine in a suburban Washington, D.C. cul-de-sac.

List of contents

Two Truths and a Lie — Amy Solonsky, June 2001
Sylvia’s Spoon — Hannah Solonsky, June, 1992
Shhh — Danny Weiss and Baby #5, March, 1993
What Hannah Never Knew — Goldie Solonsky and Sylvia Savitz Seigel, September, 1935–1990
Skin — Eric Solonsky, October 1995
You’re Next — Maggie Stramm Solonsky and Helene Stramm, August 2001
In Flight — Rosie Gold, April 2002
Ladies Night — Robin Gold, June, 2002
Harvard Man — Tad Chamberlain, July, 2002
Would You Rather? — Nikki Chamberlain, November 2002
Georgia and Phil — Georgia Dumfries, December, 2003
Ripe — Phil Scott, January 20, 2005
January — Leon Falk, January 21, 2005
The #42 — Amy Solonsky, January 13, 2005
Molly Flanders — Molly Flanders, June, 2006
Minocqua Bats — Becca Coopersmith, September, 2006
More So — Adam Kornfeld, July, 2007

About the author

Michelle Brafman is the author of the novel Washing the Dead. Her short fiction and essays have appeared in Slate, Tablet, the Washington Post, Lilith, the the minnesota review, and elsewhere. She teaches fiction writing at the Johns Hopkins University MA in Writing Program and lives with her family in Glen Echo, Maryland.

Summary

“Brafman’s talent for drawing human emotion shines through in this episodic, deeply sensitive, and introspective novel of the human psyche.”
— Booklist
Bertrand Court is a captivating novel told in story form, intertwining seventeen luminous narratives about the secrets of a cast of politicos, filmmakers, and housewives, all tied to a suburban Washington, DC, cul-de-sac. Linked through bloodlines and grocery lines, they respond to life's bruises by grabbing power, sex, or the family silver. As they atone and forgive, they unmask the love and truth that hop white picket fences.

Foreword

National print, broadcast, podcast and blog publicity campaign

Co-op available

Galleys available, national mailings, and SCIBA/NAIBA events

Bookseller and library promotions: LibraryThing and Goodreads

Author promotion on website and social media

Speaking tour with participation at author-affiliated institutions including American University, George Washington University, Johns Hopkins University, Washington DC Jewish Community Center Writing Group and others (author is very connected)

Extensive book-club appearances

Jewish Book Council promotion and advertising

Book festival participation such as George Mason University's Fall for the Book, Gaithersburg Book Festival, and Johns Hopkins/Barrelhouse's Conversations and Connections

Simultaneous hardcover, trade paperback, and eBook publication; all ISBNs to be included on all press materials. Outreach to library market to sell hardcover version. All mediums will be promoted, and publisher will seek eBook promotional opportunities via Nook and Kindle

Additional text

“Brafman’s talent for drawing human emotion shines through in this episodic, deeply sensitive, and introspective novel of the human psyche.”
— Booklist

"With insight and empathy, Michelle Brafman portrays a wide range of interconnected characters who share heartbreak, indiscretions, and tantalizing secrets in this keenly observed multi-generational chronicle."
— J. Ryan Stradal, author of Kitchens of the Great Midwest

“Brafman employs humor, deft pacing, and artful jump-cuts to vividly and warmly evoke the lives and families of policy wonks, politicos, and housewives.”
— Politics & Prose Bookstore (a #1 Politics & Prose bestseller!)

“The thread of Jewish culture that runs through Brafman’s novel is both respectful provocative and lovingly integrated. These graceful, insightful stories are a testament to our complicated lives and importance of family and friends.”
— Jewish Book Council

“What’s not to love?”
— Kveller.com

“Brafman’s gorgeous linked narratives focus on a group of astonishing characters, all grappling with power, lust, love, sex, and how best to be alive in a complicated world, all set against the backdrop of a Washington D.C. suburb. Gloriously alive, moving, and blazingly honest—Bertrand Court is brilliant.”
— Caroline Leavitt, New York Times-bestselling author of Is Cruel Beautiful World and Pictures of You

“Brafman makes the familiar fascinating, just as she previously made (in Washing the Dead) the exotic familiar.”
— Best New Fiction

"[It] pulsates with the issues of modern, suburban Jewish life.”
— Jerusalem Post

“I ripped through Bertrand Court in a single afternoon. Could not put it down. It was like binge-watching a great show. So much humor. So many stunning lines—lines that encompassed amazing ideas. What a fabulous read.”
— Helen Simonson, author of The Summer Before the War and Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

“Michelle Brafman eavesdrops on the human heart and reports back to us in Bertrand Court with honesty, compassion, and soul. This is gorgeous writing, in stories lit with grace.”
— Dylan Landis, author of Rainey Royal and Normal People Don’t Live Like This

“Like a Jewish Anne Lamott, Michelle Brafman reels you in with warmth, depth, and heart.”
— Susan Coll, author of The Stager and Acceptance

“I had the pleasure of tearing through this book in two days.. . . As wine lovers say about their favorite blends, the characters and flavors are so deliciously complex and play off each other. This would be a fabulous book to read with friends!”
— Mary Kay Zuravleff, author of Man Alive!

Product details

• Authors: Michelle Brafman
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 06.09.2016
• EAN: 9781938849794
• ISBN: 978-1-938849-79-4
• No. of pages: 264
• Subject: Fiction > Narrative literature