Sullivan novel gets Page Turners nod: ‘Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse’ picked for 2017 citywide read
Published 6:01 am Sunday, December 4, 2016
- The Austin Page Turners announced this year’s City Wide Read Friday afternoon at the Austin Public Library. From left is Nancy Stover, Holly Johnson, Bonnie Rietz, Sue Grove, Courtney Wyant and Jason Schoonover. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
“Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse,” a fictional novel about the life of a small-town Minnesota school teacher and her community, is Austin Page Turners’ selection for its 2017 citywide read.
The announcement came Friday at the Austin Public Library, by committee members, who said anyone picking up the novel by Faith Sullivan would not be able to put it down.
Faith Sullivan
“It was a stand-out leader” among members of the committee, said member Holly Johnson, who with fellow committee members spent months reading several books for potential selection to the honor.
This year marks the 16th annual citywide read. Former mayor and committee member Bonnie Rietz suggested the idea after reading about a similar program in Chicago.
A companion event will be held April 20, when Sullivan comes to Austin for a book signing and speaking event at the library, beginning at 7 p.m.
Sullivan, who was born in Lakefield, Minnesota, and grew up in Pipestone, lives in Minneapolis. Her selection continues a tradition by the committee to choose authors who are from Minnesota.
Her book follows teacher Nell Stillman and her life in the southern Minnesota town of Harvester. Both Stillman and Harvester return to the pages from previous Sullivan novels, including “The Cape Ann,” “Gardenias” and “Empress of One.” Sullivan’s account is about Stillman’s place in her town, her friendships and her tragedies. Her love of P. G. Wodehouse novels — hence the title — keeps her going through bad times.
Holly Johnson talks about the picking of Faith Sulivan as this year’s author for the Page Turners City-wide read. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
“‘Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse’ is an homage to the struggles and moral choices of Faith Sullivan’s terrific women, and to the act of reading itself. An extraordinary book,” wrote Page Turners committee member Susan Grove, in a review of the book in Austin Living earlier this year.
Sullivan’s book, the latest of eight novels, was named by the Wall Street Journal’s as one of the top 10 fiction books of 2015, and one of the best books of 2015 by the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Her work has also earned her the Midwest Book Award, Langum Prize for Historical Fiction, Milkweed National Fiction Prize and the Ben Franklin Prize.
The book is now available for check-out at the library. There are 30 books available but can also be read via e-books. Software is available for download from the library’s website, at http://austinpubliclibrary.org/
The book, both in hardcover and paperback, is also available for purchase at Sweet Reads, 407 N. Main St. in Austin.
