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Jamesland

by Michelle Huneven · 2003

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Jamesland, the buoyant second novel by Michelle Huneven, critically acclaimed author of RoundRock, is a witty, sophisticated, and deeply humane comedy of unlikely redemption.

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When thirty-three-year-old Alice Black discovers a deer in her dining room after fighting with her boyfriend, she wonders if she's going crazy. Pete Ross, forty-six, knowshe's crazy. He's wrecked his marriage, slashed his wrists, and done time in a psychiatric institution, and now he's being cared for by his mother, who's a nun. Forty-five-year-old Helen Harland, a spirited Unitarian Universalist minister, is being drivencrazy by her hostile church administration. Living in Los Feliz, California, the three meet at Helen's Wednesday midweek services. Though initiallyincompatible, the sheer force of Helen's idiosyncratic ministering (her "variety show of religious experience")-paired with Alice's illustrious ancestor William James-proves to be a catalyst for friendship and a kind of transcendence. Generous and compassionate, Michelle Huneven delivers a joyful new novel about love, faith, and a few wayward souls waiting for life to begin.

Themes
religionreligionMore like thisLess of this
Setting
2000s2000sMore like thisLess of thisLos AngelesLos AngelesMore like thisLess of thisCaliforniaCaliforniaMore like thisLess of this
Audience
adult
Length
medium · 384 pages

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