Paper Wings - Softcover

Paper Wings, the first novel by Marly Swick, balances on the fulcrum of one of America's key turning points. The time is the autumn of 1963. Suzanne Keller, a 12-year-old, resides in a brand new suburban tract filled with young families whose lives seem to stretch before them with endless hope and possibility. But all that comes to an end with the crack of Lee Harvey Oswald's rifle--the assassination of J.F.K. changes everything. As the country drifts towards the Vietnam War, Suzanne's parents begin to drift apart, her mother finding refuge behind a pair of dark glasses, while her father seeks solace in an extramarital affair. Swick, the author of three collections of short stories, including the award-winning A Hole in the Language, turns her sharp eye to that moment in history when it seemed that everything changed, forever.

Everyone in Suzanne's family acknowledges her mothers instability, yet no one has any idea why she suffers these bouts of depression. They simply accept them as fact and enjoy the moments when she emerges from them, buoyant and energetic. With Kennedy's election, presidency and assassination as background, Suzanne tells the story of the dissolution, and ultimate redemption, of her family. Sure to appeal to readers of Barbara Kingsolver, Alice Hoffman and Mona Simpson, "Paper Wings" is a subtle and moving novel about a mother and daughter who struggle, hope, and learn from each other how to emerge from shadows of tragedy.