Clara at the Edge: A Novel

by Maryl Jo Fox

Overview

At seventy-three, eccentric widow Clara Breckenridge is on a last-ditch journey to reconcile with her estranged son, finally confront the guilty secrets surrounding her daughter’s death, and maybe find love again before she dies miserable and alone. But Clara is her own worst enemy. Rigid and afraid of change, she has cocooned herself in her old house to escape from life. Magic purple wasps saved her as a child from an abusive father and they want to help her now, but wasps only live 120 days. Clara’s time is running out. When her beloved house is slated for demolition, she panics and persuades her son to haul the house from Eugene to Jackpot, Nevada, where Clara’s life is turned upside down by two troubled young people. Can the rowdy purple wasp, a spirit guide with surprising powers, help Clara confront her past and join life again or is it too late? Clara at the Edge is imaginative, eventful, sometimes funny and deeply moving.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781631522512
Publisher:	She Writes Press
Publication date:	11/21/2017
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	340
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Maryl Jo Fox grew up in Idaho and studied music at the University of Idaho before transferring to UC Berkeley for a BA in English. She went on to earn an MA in English at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. Her short fiction has appeared in Passages North, Bat City Review, and other journals. Her writing has also appeared in LA Weekly and the LA Times. She is a former president of the L.A. Drama Critics Circle. She has taught literature and composition at Pasadena City College, Glendale College, and others, and currently leads a novels discussion group at Vromans bookstore in Pasadena. She discovered her focus in a UCLA Extension Writers’ Program class, “Master Sequence in Magic, Surrealism, and the Absurd."

Editorial Reviews

Clara is a fascinating, feisty character....The writing is haunting and lyrical, and frequently ripples with humor and heart....Clara truly is at the edge of something greater than herself....[and her] story unspools in a compelling and engaging way.” —Foreword Reviews
"Fox’s writing says yes to every surreal and absurd possibility life offers." —Booklist
“This dazzling combination of riotous imagination with bottomless compassion makes this such a stellar debut. Readers will surely remember Clara and her crew—they are utterly distinct, and beautifully realized.” —Aimee Bender, author of The Color Master, The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, and four other novels
"We will follow Clara anywhere.” —Walter Kirn, author of 8 books, including Up in the Air and Blood Will Out
“Who knew wasps could be protectors, champions, and the best friends a girl ever had? Maryl Jo Fox has written a wild, enchanting, constantly surprising story of one woman’s resilience, courage, and redemption through what may be a kind of magical insanity. Clara At the Edge kept me buzzing on every page.” —Diana Wagman, author of Life #6, The Care and Feeding of Exotic Pets, and four other novels
"The writing is just like Clara—unpredictable and powerful. Each decision can lead to unimaginable consequences." —Heavy Feather Review

From the Publisher