Liquid, Fragile, Perishable - by Carolyn Kuebler (Paperback)

About the Book

May has arrived in the tiny hamlet of Glenville, Vermont, bringing with it currents of rejuvenation and rebirth. For 3 families, though, the year ahead will prove to be a roller coaster of life-changing events, promises, and tragedies. Liquid, Fragile, Perishable unspools via a chorus of unforgettable voices: an old-school Christian beekeeping family and newly transplanted New Yorkers; a trio of teenage girls and a deeply rooted family of ne'er-do-wells; and one woman who just wants to live alone in the woods. The shifting set of relations among the citizens of this community encompasses teenage pregnancy, drug abuse, poverty--and a cavalcade of thwarted dreams, young love in bloom, and poignant missed connections.

Book Synopsis

"Told through interlocking narratives, this poignant debut novel captures a year in the life of a small Vermont town--but don't let the pastoral locale fool you; this book is anything but sleepy. Moving effortlessly from the steamy to the heartbreaking, the novel handles themes such as poverty, first love, drug abuse, unplanned pregnancy, and lust with refreshing nuance." --Oprah Daily

A vivid and moving portrayal of the intricate web of relations and fate in a small New England town, told with interlocking storylines in a unique and mesmerizing voice of uncommon power in this debut novel.

May has arrived in the tiny hamlet of Glenville, Vermont, bringing with it currents of rejuvenation and rebirth. For 3 families, though, the year ahead will prove to be a roller coaster of life-changing events, promises, and tragedies.

Liquid, Fragile, Perishable unspools via a chorus of unforgettable voices: an old-school Christian beekeeping family and newly transplanted New Yorkers; a trio of teenage girls and a deeply rooted family of ne'er-do-wells; and one woman who just wants to live alone in the woods. The shifting set of relations among the citizens of this community encompasses teenage pregnancy, drug abuse, poverty--and a cavalcade of thwarted dreams, young love in bloom, and poignant missed connections.

This powerful debut is a subtle and beautiful story about the interlocking relationships among the residents of a small town out of Sherwood Anderson or Thornton Wilder--but with a very contemporary set of problems ... By turns sexy, shocking, and wistful, this coruscating debut conveys the hopes, the sadness, and the secrets of a whole great world.

Told in a vivid style of complete distinction, the novel has a magic and a momentum all its own, giving a look into the aching, silent heart of America.

Review Quotes

An Oprah Daily Most Anticipated Reads of 2024
A Read Between the Spines May 2024 Most Anticipated New Book Releases

"Told through interlocking narratives, this poignant debut novel captures a year in the life of a small Vermont town--but don't let the pastoral locale fool you; this book is anything but sleepy. Moving effortlessly from the steamy to the heartbreaking, the novel handles themes such as poverty, first love, drug abuse, unplanned pregnancy, and lust with refreshing nuance." - Oprah Daily

"In depicting the fleeting flow of life, Kuebler aptly conveys the quickness with which situations can develop and take on their own momentum. How easy it is to lose touch with someone, to miss out on things ... Kuebler succeeds in capturing the rhythms of small-town life, and her peculiar style -- each sentence is an island unto itself, separated from its neighbors by a full break -- seems to imply that the reader should take a deep breath between each thought." - The Boston Globe

"This powerful debut is a subtle and beautiful story about the interlocking relationships among the residents of a small town out of Sherwood Anderson or Thornton Wilder--but with a very contemporary set of problems ... By turns sexy, shocking, and wistful, this coruscating debut conveys the hopes, the sadness, and the secrets of a whole great world. Told in a vivid style of complete distinction, the novel has a magic and a momentum all its own, giving a look into the aching, silent heart of America." - Read Between the Spines

"Kuebler's prose is visual, astute, and rich. Family drama, mystery, and subtle foreshadowing carry readers headlong to the conclusion. A novel for readers who relish a sense of place, quirky characters, and intertwined stories ... Featuring many teen characters, this will be of interest for its coming-of-age topics, including friend groups, parental control, and romance." - Booklist

"Kuebler's skillful, minimalist prose carries this small-town story from tranquil beginning to perilous end. An intricate, slow-burning patchwork of a debut novel." - STARRED review, Kirkus

"I've spent my life in towns like this, and so so much rings true--hard, sweet, right." --Bill McKibben, author Radio Free Vermont

"Kuebler deftly weaves multiple perspectives into a tapestry showing one bittersweet year in the collective life of a small northeastern town. Her wonderful characters, beautiful landscapes, and portrait of rural life will stay with me." --Lydia Kiesling, author of Mobility

"Carolyn Kuebler's superb ensemble narrative features post office clerks and recluses, yearning teens and missionary parents, budding criminals and trusts funders who all inhabit a beautiful, struggling Vermont town. Part of Kuebler's magic is that she offers no easy answers to this question, and leaves you pondering instead what will happen to these people, and what it takes for our rural communities to thrive and endure." --Maria Hummel, author of Goldenseal

"A true-to-life, richly detailed American tale in the tradition of Sherwood Anderson, Willa Cather, and Thornton Wilder. Kuebler's genius as a writer is to make readers believe that the harrowing story of Glenville, Vermont is both their own and one essential for our time." --Michael Collier, author of The Wild Mountain

About the Author

Carolyn Kuebler was a co-founder of the literary journal Rain Taxi and is now the editor of the award-winning New England Review. Her stories and essays have been published in The Common and Colorado Review, among others, and "Wildflower Season," published in The Massachusetts Review, won the 2022 John Burroughs Award for Nature Essays. She lives in Middlebury, Vermont, where she enjoys bird-watching and cross-country skiing. Liquid, Fragile, Perishable is her first novel.