Louise Wareham Leonard
My new book, 52 Men is available now for pre-order and will be released on August 15, 2015.
It's an intense "micro-novel" told in compact, rich sketches capturing the emotional and physical possibilities of encounters between 52 men and one woman in the Manhattan of the late twentieth century.
A video trailer and podcast of an interview from WXXI public radio about 52 Men have just been uploaded! Scroll along the author update toolbar >>>>>>> to access.
Outline of 52 Men
In contemporary literary miniatures from a few lines to a few pages, Manhattan raised Elise McKnight describes the men in her life who gradually reveal her: high-profile cultural leaders, writers and celebrities, as well as the down-to-earth waiter, student, and police officer. Fifty-two strange, romantic, and sexual interludes and relationships spark to life and disappear in the wind, leaving us to wonder: What is Elise's power? What does she want and will she ever get it?
Does she have a secret, and if so, what is it?
With surprising, sometimes shocking and moving cameos by figures from tabloids and the news: Jay Carney, Jonathan Franzen, Lou Reed, Michael Stipe; and encounters with artists, financiers, and a boxer who reads Neruda at the Turkish baths.
Advance praise for 52 Men
"52 Men is a haunting and haunted book about the world of women and men. It
is mainly composed of elegant and brief portraits of our often deeply inelegant
humanity. It is harsh and sweet and very funny, in spots as hard to read as it is
hard to put down." --Will Eno
"I'm not sure I've ever read a story of a life that's both so moving and told with
such breathtaking economy and precision. 52 Men gave me goose bumps again
and again." --Kurt Andersen
"Neither fish nor fowl, these short pieces of 'autobiographical fiction' detail the
author's romantic conquests. . . . She's showered with expensive gifts, tortured
letters, and declarations of love. As 'the world's most famous North American
novelist' says, 'the best thing about this city is you.'" --Kirkus Reviews
Biographical Note
Louise Wareham Leonard is the author of Since You Ask (Akashic Books, 2004), awarded the James Jones Literary Society First Novel Award, and Miss Me A Lot Of (Victoria University Press, 2007). Born in New Zealand, Louise moved to Manhattan at age twelve and attended Columbia College. She currently lives in upstate New York.
