Où vivaient les gens heureux de Joyce Maynard, paru en août 2021 aux éditions Philippe Rey dans une traduction de Florence Lévy-Paolini, vient de remporter Le Grand prix de littérature américaine. Ce prix récompense chaque année un roman américain paru depuis le 1er janvier et se distinguant par ses qualités littéraires de premier plan.
Le jury a vu dans l’ouvrage « un livre d’une grande subtilité où Joyce Maynard explore magistralement la gamme des sentiments, à travers le portrait d’une femme des années 1970 à aujourd’hui. A la fois réflexion sur le couple et sur la famille, ce roman restitue avec finesse tout ce dont sont faites nos vies, face à un monde et une société en perpétuel mouvement. »
Le roman :
Lorsque Eleanor, jeune artiste à succès, achète une maison dans la campagne du New Hampshire, elle cherche à oublier un passé difficile. Sa rencontre avec le séduisant Cam lui ouvre un nouvel univers, animé par la venue de trois enfants : la secrète Alison, l’optimiste Ursula et le doux Toby.
Comblée, Eleanor vit l’accomplissement d’un rêve. Très tôt laissée à elle-même par des parents indifférents, elle semble prête à tous les sacrifices pour jses enfants. Cette vie au cœur de la nature, tissée de fantaisie et d’imagination, lui offre des joies inespérées. Et si entre Cam et Eleanor la passion n’est plus aussi vibrante, ils possèdent quelque chose de plus important : leur famille. Jusqu’au jour où survient un terrible accident…
Dans ce roman bouleversant qui emporte le lecteur des années 1970 à nos jours, Joyce Maynard relie les évolutions de ses personnages à celles de la société américaine – libération sexuelle, avortement, émancipation des femmes jusqu’à l’émergence du mouvement MeToo… Chaque saison apporte ses moments de doute ou de colère, de pardon et de découverte de soi.
A woman defined by motion, Brianna Madia bought a beat-up bright orange van, filled it with her two dogs Bucket and Dagwood, and headed into the canyons of Utah with her husband. Nowhere for Very Long is her story of exploration—of the world outside and the spirit within.
Famed advice columnist Wendy Wise has been teaching women how to live their best lives for four decades, so why are her own two daughters such a mess? Clementine, who followed her mother’s advice to the letter, has just discovered that her husband secretly funneled their home fund into his fledgling business, while Barb, who always did the opposite of Wendy’s advice, is juggling too many projects and has moved back in with her cheating girlfriend. When Wendy swoops into town to save the day, the girls discover that their mother has problems of her own to address, and the three Wise women must confront the disappointments and heartaches that have accumulated between them over the years. Together, they learn that life and love don’t always look the way we think they should, and that what you want isn’t always what you need. At once witty and wise, humorous and heartbreaking, THREE WISE WOMEN is a novel about aging and change, the struggle to move forward into uncharted territory, and the courage and power of love to embrace a future that looks different than the one we expected.
Many of us will remember the late Lou Reed as an iconic rock musician and lead singer of the Velvet Underground, but few of us are aware of Lou’s other great passion, the one that he carried up to his final days and moments of his life: the martial art of Tai Chi. During the last decades of his life, Reed studied directly under Master Ren Guang-Yi, a champion of Chen Tai Chi. He was so influenced by his practice that he released an album in 2008 that he wrote specifically to be listened to while training Tai Chi, entitled Hudson River Wind Meditations. Now, mindfulness meets martial arts in this beautifully designed book edited by his wife, acclaimed artist Laurie Anderson. Through both prose and photography, it offers us a glimpse into Reed’s physical, mental, and spiritual journey. Drawn from exclusive interviews and conversations with his fellow students, teachers, and friends including Julian Schnabel, Iggy Pop, Darren Aronofsky, and Lou’s celebrated teacher Master Ren Guangyi, this truly unique book is a gift for rock and roll fans and seekers of wisdom, insight and inspiration alike. 
Over the course of her career, Cicely Tyson was nominated for 49 television and film awards and won 42, most notably an Oscar, a Tony Award, 3 Emmys, 8 NAACP Image Awards, the African American Film Critics Special Achievement Award, the BAFTA Film Award, the Black Film Critics Circle Award, 4 Black Reel Awards, the