Yann Martel discusses Beatrice & Virgil

Yann Martel discusses his highly anticipated new novel Beatrice and Virgil

Time:  Thursday May 20, 2010 6:30 PM

Location:  Kansas City Public Library, Plaza Branch, Truman Forum, Kansas City, Missouri64112

Phone:  913-384-3126 to order books in advance, 816-701-3407 to make reservations to attend.

Author:  Yann Martel the son of diplomats, was born in Spain in 1963. He grew up in Costa Rica, France, Mexico, Alaska, and Canada and as an adult has spent time in Iran, Turkey, and India. After studying philosophy in college, he worked at various odd jobs until he began earning his living as a writer at the age of twenty-seven. He lives in Montreal. His previous novel The Life Of Pi won the 2002 Man Booker Prize for Fiction.

Title: Beatrice and Virgil, $24.00 Hardcover, ISBN 9781400069262, On Sale Date: April 13, 2010

Fate can take many forms. For Henry, a writer living in a foreign city, it arrives in the form of an envelope from a reader. Instead of the usual fan mail, the envelope contains a story by Flaubert, a scene from a play featuring two characters named Beatrice and Virgil, and a note asking for Henry’s help. The note is signed “Henry,” and the return address is not far from where Henry lives. When Henry walks his dog to hand-deliver his response, he is surprised to discover a taxidermist’s shop. Here, stunning specimens are poised on the brink of action, silent and preternaturally still, yet bursting with the palpable life of a lost, vibrant world. And when the mysterious, elderly taxidermist introduces his visitor to Beatrice and Virgil—a donkey and a howler monkey—Henry’s life is changed forever.

Yann Martel’s previous novel, Life of Pi, has become a modern classic. A fantastical tale about a boy and a tiger shipwrecked in the Pacific, it asked probing questions about belief and reality. Now Martel has written another story that uses animals to examine our humanity. In Beatrice and Virgil, he poses enduring questions about life and art, truth and deception, responsibility and complicity. Haunting and unforgettable, this is an extraordinary feat of storytelling.

What:  Yann Martel will discuss his brilliant new work and career, and answer audience questions. A limited number of pre-autographed copies of Beatrice and Virgil will be available for purchase from Rainy Day Books, on our website and / or at our Author Event.

When: Thursday, May 20, 2010, 6:30 PM

Where:  A Rainy Day Books Author Event at The Kansas City Public Library, Plaza Branch, Truman Forum, 4801 Main Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64112

Admission Package:  This event is open to the general public.  Call 816-701-3407 to make reservations to attend.

All Author Event Book Sales are Final and Non-Returnable.

Beatrice and Virgil (Hardcover)

By Yann Martel

$24.00

ISBN-13: 9781400069262
Availability: Special Order - Subject to Availability
Published: Spiegel & Grau, 04/01/2010

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