Jami Attenberg

1. Jami Attenberg

1000 Words

"Devotees of Attenberg’s fiction (All Grown Up, All This Could Be Yours, many others), and her pandemic-sparked newsletter, Craft Talk, have used her 1000-words-a-day-in-summer model to push novel and book projects along, helped by Attenberg’s feel-good approach to the sweaty toil of ~generative~ work. This offshoot of the project stretches the approach to get you through the year and includes tips from other Names like comedian and essayist Josh Gondelman. It will be the new Bird by Bird, you heard it here first."-Lit Hub

1. Jami , Attenberg

Wir könnten alles sein

1971, in einem Vorort von Chicago, sitzen die vier Cohens jeden Samstagabend zum Scrabble zusammen. So viel Familienzeit muss sein, findet Frieda, die Mutter, und bereitet Popcorn für alle zu. Als keine fünf Jahre später Patriarch Rudy stirbt, ist nichts wie zuvor. Frieda trinkt zu viel, und die Töchter können es kaum erwarten, wegzukommen von der Mutter, die keine Wärme für sie übrighat. Nancy, die Ältere, wird mit einundzwanzig schwanger und brennt an der Seite eines zwielichtigen Handelsvertreters nach Phoenix durch. Die hochintelligente Shelly stürzt sich in eine lukrative Karriere in der aufblühenden Tech-Branche der Westküste. In sicherer Distanz voneinander versuchen alle drei Cohen-Frauen, sich eine eigene Identität zu erkämpfen. Aber auf ungeahnten Wegen kehren die Erwartungen, Traumata und verdrängten Geheimnisse von damals zurück. Ist ein Verstehen, gar ein Aussöhnen möglich? Und gelingt es der nächsten Generation, Nancys Tochter Jess, die Muster zu durchbrechen?  Jami Attenberg verfolgt die Schicksale der vier Cohen-Frauen über vierzig Jahre hinweg, erkundet, auf welche Weisen familiäre Verstrickungen uns prägen, und zeichnet intelligent und realistisch Fortschritt und Backlash in der jüngeren Geschichte der USA nach.

1. Jami , Attenberg

Tutto questo potrebbe essere tuo

La giovane Alex Tuchman ne è convinta: scoprire una presunta indicibile verità sui genitori getterà luce su tutti gli aspetti più problematici della sua vita. L'occasione propizia per affrontare quel tarlo che la divora arriva un giorno d'agosto, quando la madre Barbra la chiama da New Orleans per annunciarle che Victor sta per morire. Victor, l'ormai anziano patriarca, l'uomo borioso, prepotente, violento che ha funestato l'infanzia di Alex e suo fratello Gary, minaccia incombente anche durante le continue assenze dovute ai suoi affari loschi, il marito narcisista che ha sempre considerato Barbra ¿ e tutte le altre donne ¿ merce di cui disporre a piacimento. Alex allora raggiunge la madre armata di un tenace proposito: vuole che Barbra le dica tutto. Degli abusi, delle ragioni che l'hanno spinta a subire, a rimanere. Ma Barbra ostenta un'esagerata frivolezza per giustificare la sua reticenza, e Alex non può nemmeno contare sull'appoggio di Gary, a Los Angeles per lavoro ¿ o forse in fuga da una terribile scoperta? ¿, riluttante a salire su un aereo e ricongiungersi con la famiglia. In questa lunga giornata oppressa dall'afa tipica di New Orleans, intorno al capezzale di Victor ruotano anche i pensieri delle nipoti adolescenti, Sadie ed Avery, che non si sono mai davvero legate a quell'uomo talmente lontano dai canoni tradizionali del nonno affettuoso, e di Twyla, la moglie di Gary, che versa lacrime in un peregrinare distratto in cerca di alcol e rossetti. E così ognuno a modo suo si ritrova a ripercorrere il passato e interrogarsi sul presente, forse anche per farsi coraggio e prendere finalmente le distanze dall'influenza tossica di Victor.

1. Jami Attenberg

A Reason to See You Again

“With wry, streamlined wit and almost ruthless efficiency, [Attenberg] distill[s] the essence of her characters . . . Even minor players are so sharply sketched that they feel immediately familiar, and the cultural markers ring true, too, from the crosscurrents of second- and third-wave feminism to the gold-rush opportunism of the early tech boom . . . . From her, I’d take 10 more chapters of unhappily ever after.”  — New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice) “From Jami Attenberg, doyen of absorbing family excavations, 37 years in the life of the Cohens: a closeted patriarch, his foundering widow, their daughters, poles apart.” — Vanity Fair “[A] wry novel about love, loss, and inherited trauma.”  — Time “[A] dramatic, page-turning novel.” — People “A moving epic about the endurance of family love.” — Real Simple “Affecting. . . . The nov el offers an unflinch ing look at the poten tial ly destruc tive con se quences of the care giv er role thrust on women. . . . Atten berg skill ful ly relates the cor ro sive effect of famil ial lies and secrets through out sev er al decades.” — Jewish Book Council "When their father passes, the Cohen sisters and their mother seem rudderless and strike out in opposite directions. Spanning 40 years, this moving saga asks if love can heal brokenness." — Saturday Evening Post "Entertaining and empathetic. . . . Attenberg knows how to imperil her characters and love them at the same time. . . . Readers will happily sit with these women through it all.” — Booklist (starred review) “The vicissitudes of [Attenberg’s] characters are undeniably absorbing.” — Kirkus Reviews “Attenberg’s nuanced latest . . . . is carried along by deliciously realistic descriptions of the Cohens’ complex relationships. It’s an admirable portrait of a distinctly unhappy family.” — Publishers Weekly “Attenberg knows where to shine a spotlight to reveal characters' personalities and dynamics . . . . [Her] characters are as loveable as they are maddening, and the combination of choices and luck makes the novel's events feel as random—and genuine—as real life. . . . [A] masterful dysfunctional family story.” — Shelf Awareness “Glimmers of humor lift a narrative that time-hops and head-hops, as the Cohen women come together and fall apart, squabble and make up. . . . Attenberg’s fans will enjoy this novel, as will those who like sharply observed dysfunctional mother-daughter stories.” — Library Journal “I loved leaping through time with the four Cohen women—Frieda, Nancy, Shelly, and Jess. Each woman is intelligent and self-sabotaging—the way we all can be—and they love each other fiercely, often from a careful distance. Attenberg’s writing is sharp and incisive—it’s a pleasure to watch the patterns she created unfold over forty years of these women’s lives.” — Ann Napolitano, author of Hello Beautiful and Dear Edward

1. Jami , Attenberg

1000 Words

Ob Anfänger oder erfahrene Autorin - alle, die schreiben, bekommen es mit Zweifeln zu tun. Ist das, was ich schreibe, gut? Hat Schreiben überhaupt einen Sinn? Wird das Buch jemals fertig? Eines Tages entschieden Jami Attenberg und ihre Freundin, die Autorin und Dozentin Anne Gisleson, dem inneren Kritiker gemeinsam die Stirn zu bieten. Zwei Wochen lang 1000 Wörter pro Tag, lautete die Challenge. Unter dem Hashtag #1000WordsofSummer teilte Attenberg den Plan mit ihren Followern, und binnen einer Stunde schlossen sich mehrere Hundert, bald mehrere Tausend Begeisterte an. Aus Jami Attenbergs Idee, das Projekt mit ermutigenden Mails zu begleiten, ist dieses Buch entstanden. Sie selbst und über fünfzig weitere namhafte Schriftsteller:innen geben empowernde Ratschläge, erklären, mit welchen Tricks sie in Schwung kommen und am Ball bleiben, wie sie ihr Selbstbewusstsein beim Schreiben pushen, sich gegen Leute behaupten, die sie von der Arbeit abhalten wollen (also in erster Linie gegen sich selbst) - und was sie tun, um den leidigen Perfektionismus in Schach zu halten. Ein Buch wie ein sanfter Schubs, endlich (wieder) mit dem Schreiben zu beginnen.

1. Jami Attenberg

A Reason to See You Again