Once Upon a Day
A Novel
By Lisa Tucker
(Atria, Google eBook, 9zciyG0crwUC)
Publication Date: April 2006
Other Editions of This Title: Hardcover, Paperback, Compact Disc, Compact Disc, MP3 CD, MP3 CD, Compact Disc
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Nineteen years ago, a famous man disappeared from Los Angeles, taking his two children, Dorothea and Jimmy, to a rocky, desolate corner of New Mexico where he raised them in complete isolation in a utopian "Sanctuary." The children grew up with books and encyclopedias, records and a grand piano, but no television, computer, radio, or even a newspaper. Now Dorothea, at twenty-three, is leaving this place in search of her missing brother -- and venturing into the wide world for the first time.
Dorothea's search will turn into an odyssey of discovery, leading to the truth of her family's past and the terrifying day that changed her father forever. But Dorothea's journey will also introduce her to an unusual cast of characters, including a homeless girl from Missouri who becomes a jazz singer and a social worker whose mistake in judgment changes her best friend's life. And she will meet Stephen, a doctor turned cabdriver who, after suffering his own losses, has lost his ability to believe in a meaningful world. Together, they have a chance to make a discovery of a different kind: that though a heart can be broken by the tragic events of a day, a day can also bring a new chance at love and a deeper understanding of life's infinite possibilities.
Beautifully written, with a spellbinding story, "Once Upon a Day" is "a lyrically poignant reminder of the necessity of hope" ("Publishers Weekly," starred review).
Lisa Tucker is the bestselling author of The Promised World, The Cure for Modern Life, Once Upon a Day, Shout Down the Moon and The Song Reader. Her short work has appeared in Seventeen, Pages and The Oxford American. She lives in Pennsylvania with her family.
"Tucker's outstanding novel is as structurally dextrous as it is emotionally satisfying, boasting a chorus of extraordinary voices. An exceptionally empathetic storyteller, Tucker has created a haunting, gripping novel that brims with graceful writing and fragile characters. Devour it as a page-turner about parenting and family or discuss its subtle meditations on fate and coincidence, wealth and poverty, fairy tales and American dreams." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"The spirit of Jane Eyre looms over Once Upon a Day. Lisa Tucker keeps the plot of this gothic novel bubbling with tons of juicy family secrets." -- Stewart O'Nan
"Lisa Tucker gives me what I want most from fiction: compassion and provocation. Once Upon a Day is her most impressive novel to date." -- John Dufresne, author, Louisiana Power & Light and Love Warps the Mind a Little
"Once Upon a Day is a smart, compelling story about the ungainliness of familial and romantic love. Tucker's quietly and yet wildly ambitious novel is a subtle, witty deconstruction of fairy tales and a graceful tour de force of storytelling." -- Mark Winegardner, author, Crooked River Burning and The Godfather Returns
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