But Not for Long: A Novel
3.5/5
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About this ebook
Hard-shelled, career-minded Greta is the newest and least likely member of a sustainable foods cooperative house in Madison, Wisconsin. Shortly after she joins Karin and Hal in their stately residence near campus, the husband Greta left appears on their porch, drunk, and the reason for her sudden appearance becomes clear. Yet the house members already have plenty to occupy them: a series of summer blackouts has unearthed a disquietude lurking just under the surface for each of the three residents. Gas is dwindling, electricity is unreliable, and the natural world around them is in upheaval. The uneasiness of the environ ment mirrors that of Greta, Hal, and Karin as they each make efforts to resolve their own personal crises. With subtle attunement to the hovering uncertainty affecting each of her characters, Wildgen crafts a story both terrifying and beautiful.
Michelle Wildgen
Michelle Wildgen is a senior editor at Tin House. Her first novel, You’re Not You, a New York Times Editor’s Choice and one of People Magazine’s Ten Best Books of 2006, is now in development for film by Hilary Swank and Denise DiNovi. She is also the author of the acclaimed novel But Not for Long. Wildgen’s work has appeared in O, The Oprah Magazine, The New York Times, and literary journals including Prairie Schooner and TriQuarterly.
Read more from Michelle Wildgen
You're Not You: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Girl Activist Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
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Reviews for But Not for Long
12 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I loved her first book "You're Not You," so I couldn't wait to get my hands on this second book. She develops the characters so thoroughly that I can see them and follow them around. There are so many touchingly painful happenings in this description of a very short period of time where everyone is caught in a sort of strange time warp of an extended blackout. I need to compare thoughts with someone about the ending. I will happily await her third book.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is basically a character study of four people. Three of them are living together in a cooperative house in Madison Wisconsin, and the fourth is an alcoholic husband of one of the coop-ers. It takes place over three days during a power outage that affects the whole city and a major portion of the region. Other catastrophic events also portend – a gas shortage, disappeared honey bees, references to flooding on the coasts. The alcoholic is trying to quit (well, sometimes he seems to be).The characters are interesting and the tone is not at all preachy. I enjoyed the read.