Rachel Cantor's Blog
June 23, 2023
Events announced for HALF-LIFE OF A STOLEN SISTER
We've organized a full slate of events for Half-Life of a Stolen Sister, with more events in the works. Join me IRL in Hartford, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Boston, Washington DC, Philly, or Toronto, or attend one of our virtual events (see A Mighty Blaze & Literati below), to hear me discuss Half-Life with an incredible line-up of fantastic literary authors!
JUNE 30 – RIVER BEND BOOKSHOP, w/VERONICA BROOKS-SIGLER, W. HARTFORD, CT – 5:30 pm
JULY 11 – P&T KNITWEAR, w/ROBIN BLACK, MANHATTAN, NY – 7 pm
JULY 12 – GREENLIGHT BOOKSTORE, w/SARI WILSON, BROOKLYN, NY – 7:30 pm
JULY 19 – PORTER SQUARE BOOKS, w/DAWN TRIPP, CAMBRIDGE, MA – 7 pm
JULY 20 – A MIGHTY BLAZE, w/CAROLINE LEAVITT, www.facebook.com/amightyblaze – 4 pm
JULY 24 – POLITICS & PROSE, w/AARON HAMBURGER, WASHINGTON, D.C. – 7 pm
JULY 25 – A NOVEL IDEA, w/STEPHANIE FELDMAN, PHILADELPHIA, PA – 6 pm
JULY 27 – LES BLEUS READING SERIES, BROOKLYN, NY – TBA
AUGUST 10 – LITERATI BOOKSTORE, w/ELIZABETH SILVER, link TBA – 7 pm
AUGUST 14 – FRANKLIN PARK READING SERIES, BROOKLYN, NY – 8 pm
SEPTEMBER – TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF AUTHORS, TORONTO, CANADA – TBA
OCTOBER 5 – RALLY READING SERIES, BROOKLYN, NY – 7 pm
OCTOBER 19 – YALE CLUB, w/ANNE BURT, MANHATTAN, NY – 4 pm
JUNE 30 – RIVER BEND BOOKSHOP, w/VERONICA BROOKS-SIGLER, W. HARTFORD, CT – 5:30 pm
JULY 11 – P&T KNITWEAR, w/ROBIN BLACK, MANHATTAN, NY – 7 pm
JULY 12 – GREENLIGHT BOOKSTORE, w/SARI WILSON, BROOKLYN, NY – 7:30 pm
JULY 19 – PORTER SQUARE BOOKS, w/DAWN TRIPP, CAMBRIDGE, MA – 7 pm
JULY 20 – A MIGHTY BLAZE, w/CAROLINE LEAVITT, www.facebook.com/amightyblaze – 4 pm
JULY 24 – POLITICS & PROSE, w/AARON HAMBURGER, WASHINGTON, D.C. – 7 pm
JULY 25 – A NOVEL IDEA, w/STEPHANIE FELDMAN, PHILADELPHIA, PA – 6 pm
JULY 27 – LES BLEUS READING SERIES, BROOKLYN, NY – TBA
AUGUST 10 – LITERATI BOOKSTORE, w/ELIZABETH SILVER, link TBA – 7 pm
AUGUST 14 – FRANKLIN PARK READING SERIES, BROOKLYN, NY – 8 pm
SEPTEMBER – TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF AUTHORS, TORONTO, CANADA – TBA
OCTOBER 5 – RALLY READING SERIES, BROOKLYN, NY – 7 pm
OCTOBER 19 – YALE CLUB, w/ANNE BURT, MANHATTAN, NY – 4 pm
Lovely prepublication reviews for HALF-LIFE OF A STOLEN SISTER!
Kirkus says Cantor's "skewed take on the [Brontë] lives plays fair with their limited life spans and general relationships to each other and the world while throwing them into a setting replete with bagels, McMansions, subways, television, and soy milk. The structure of the novel is playful ... with a few surprising insights. Our Verdict: GET IT."
Publishers Weekly says, “Cantor spins a free-ranging and intriguing tale of a literary family inspired by the Brontës that incorporates a mix of forms and anachronistic details . . . Cantor’s frisky and time-collapsing blend of forms elevates the experiment above run-of-the-mill Brontë fodder . . . For Brontë fans, this is a jolt of fresh air.”
Booklist writes, “Cantor pulls out all the stops to make this a unique and unforgettable reading experience that is as difficult to describe as it is to set down . . . Clever without straining, true to the basic facts of the Brontë family history, and emotionally compelling as the children grow while continuously facing new obstacles, Cantor's unusual tale can be read and reread for endless diversion.”
Foreword Reviews writes in its starred review, “Innovative . . . Cantor spins the known biographies of the Brontë siblings into a surrealist, eccentric story where modernity blends with the archaic … Retells the story of the Brontë family with flair.”
Johns Hopkins Magazine writes, “The book's rich humor lies in its adept and casually seamless merger of the voice and vocabulary of the characters' early 19th-century milieu with the trappings of our media-hungry society.”
Publishers Weekly says, “Cantor spins a free-ranging and intriguing tale of a literary family inspired by the Brontës that incorporates a mix of forms and anachronistic details . . . Cantor’s frisky and time-collapsing blend of forms elevates the experiment above run-of-the-mill Brontë fodder . . . For Brontë fans, this is a jolt of fresh air.”
Booklist writes, “Cantor pulls out all the stops to make this a unique and unforgettable reading experience that is as difficult to describe as it is to set down . . . Clever without straining, true to the basic facts of the Brontë family history, and emotionally compelling as the children grow while continuously facing new obstacles, Cantor's unusual tale can be read and reread for endless diversion.”
Foreword Reviews writes in its starred review, “Innovative . . . Cantor spins the known biographies of the Brontë siblings into a surrealist, eccentric story where modernity blends with the archaic … Retells the story of the Brontë family with flair.”
Johns Hopkins Magazine writes, “The book's rich humor lies in its adept and casually seamless merger of the voice and vocabulary of the characters' early 19th-century milieu with the trappings of our media-hungry society.”
Early praise for HALF-LIFE OF A STOLEN SISTER!
Dazzling in design, Cantor’s showstopping retelling of the lives of the Brontë sisters (and brother Branwell) gleefully shapeshifts the legends we think we know into an ingenious new context we’ve never imagined. Using emails, diaries, movies, radio programs and more, Cantor meshes facts with fictions to illuminate art, sisters, love, and life, and how creativity can arise out of soul-killing sorrows. Heart-wounding and deeply funny, Cantor’s novel's exuberant risk-taking and bottomless compassion for her genius subjects make this book a work of genius in itself.
--Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of With or Without You
Rachel Cantor is among the most exciting, singular novelists of our time and Half-life of a Stolen Sister is her best yet.
--Joanna Rakoff, author of My Salinger Year
I was entranced. Through Cantor’s virtuosic prose and empathic storytelling, I was drawn into the swirling drama and brilliance of this dysfunctional and ambitious family. I felt each death, each hurt, each creative triumph as my own. I became one of the Brontës. This hypnotic novel is a masterpiece.
--Sari Wilson, author of Girl Through Glass
Long a fan of Cantor's breathtaking synthesis of intellectual brilliance and rare compassion, I am gobsmacked by this novel, and by the steadily building power of what the author herself calls its "eccentric form." Playful, doleful, witty, tragic, loving; as a life is all of this at once, so is this magical volume. The Brontës deserve something extraordinary, and Rachel Cantor has given them - and us - exactly that. Brava!
--Robin Black, author of Life Drawing
With humor and heart, Rachel Cantor paints a vivid, multi-voiced picture of the Bröntes via a shape-shifting, time-bending tapestry of unforgettable characters and situations. Whether you're a fan of this literary family or not, this book is a must-read for anyone looking for a truly innovative, tender, and humorous take on genius, the creative process, family, and life."
--Marie Myung-Ok Lee, author of The Evening Hero
--Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of With or Without You
Rachel Cantor is among the most exciting, singular novelists of our time and Half-life of a Stolen Sister is her best yet.
--Joanna Rakoff, author of My Salinger Year
I was entranced. Through Cantor’s virtuosic prose and empathic storytelling, I was drawn into the swirling drama and brilliance of this dysfunctional and ambitious family. I felt each death, each hurt, each creative triumph as my own. I became one of the Brontës. This hypnotic novel is a masterpiece.
--Sari Wilson, author of Girl Through Glass
Long a fan of Cantor's breathtaking synthesis of intellectual brilliance and rare compassion, I am gobsmacked by this novel, and by the steadily building power of what the author herself calls its "eccentric form." Playful, doleful, witty, tragic, loving; as a life is all of this at once, so is this magical volume. The Brontës deserve something extraordinary, and Rachel Cantor has given them - and us - exactly that. Brava!
--Robin Black, author of Life Drawing
With humor and heart, Rachel Cantor paints a vivid, multi-voiced picture of the Bröntes via a shape-shifting, time-bending tapestry of unforgettable characters and situations. Whether you're a fan of this literary family or not, this book is a must-read for anyone looking for a truly innovative, tender, and humorous take on genius, the creative process, family, and life."
--Marie Myung-Ok Lee, author of The Evening Hero
October 20, 2015
Starred Reviews from Publishers' Weekly & Kirkus for GOOD ON PAPER!
Starred reviews from both Kirkus Reviews and Publishers' Weekly for Rachel Cantor's forthcoming novel Good on Paper (Jan. 26, 2016)!
Kirkus (STARRED REVIEW): "... Cantor clearly loves her characters, and she shows true mastery of their inner lives. Between endearingly wonky riffs about translation, she offers full access to Shira’s roller coaster of emotions, the collisions of her past and present, and keeps us hanging on through every curve. You’ll want to reread the final chapters more than once, delighted anew each time by how well Cantor speaks our language."
PW (STARRED REVIEW): “… Translation is a metaphor through which Cantor uses her considerable powers with language to refract larger questions about family bonds, storytelling, and letting go of fantasies of new life and waking up to the life that is yours.”
Kirkus (STARRED REVIEW): "... Cantor clearly loves her characters, and she shows true mastery of their inner lives. Between endearingly wonky riffs about translation, she offers full access to Shira’s roller coaster of emotions, the collisions of her past and present, and keeps us hanging on through every curve. You’ll want to reread the final chapters more than once, delighted anew each time by how well Cantor speaks our language."
PW (STARRED REVIEW): “… Translation is a metaphor through which Cantor uses her considerable powers with language to refract larger questions about family bonds, storytelling, and letting go of fantasies of new life and waking up to the life that is yours.”
January 12, 2014
Sunday NY Times Book Review!
'A Highly Unlikely Scenario, or a Neetsa Pizza Employee's Guide to Saving the World: A Novel received a full-page review in today's Sunday NY Times Book Review!
"By layering the ridiculous inventions of her mind with the ridiculous facts of the world, Cantor creates a novel about being incredulous and certain at the same time, about listening without judgment, about acting on faith ... A dystopian satire; a story about storytelling, believing and listening — 'A Highly Unlikely Scenario' is ultimately a history of our own strange world."
"By layering the ridiculous inventions of her mind with the ridiculous facts of the world, Cantor creates a novel about being incredulous and certain at the same time, about listening without judgment, about acting on faith ... A dystopian satire; a story about storytelling, believing and listening — 'A Highly Unlikely Scenario' is ultimately a history of our own strange world."
January 3, 2014
"A Highly Unlikely Scenario" Events!
Join me around the country as we celebrate the launch of A Highly Unlikely Scenario! Introduce yourself as a Goodreads member and I will give you my happiest smile!
JANUARY 15, 2014 – GREENLIGHT BOOKS, BROOKLYN – 7:30 p.m.
JANUARY 19, 2014 – LIT AT LARK READING SERIES, BROOKLYN – 5 p.m.
JANUARY 24, 2014 – HARVARD BOOKSTORE, CAMBRIDGE – 7 p.m.
JANUARY 25, 2014 – ALA MIDWINTER MEETING, DEBUT AUTHORS PANEL, PHILADELPHIA – 3 p.m.
JANUARY 25, 2014 – BIG BLUE MARBLE BOOKSTORE, PHILADELPHIA – 7 p.m.
FEBRUARY 27, 2014 – ASSOCIATED WRITERS & WRITING PROGRAMS CONFERENCE, SEATTLE – 9 a.m.
MARCH 3, 2014 – ELLIOTT BAY, SEATTLE – 7 p.m.
MARCH 4, 2014 – POWELL’S, PORTLAND – 7:30 p.m.
MARCH 5, 2014 – A GREAT GOOD PLACE FOR BOOKS, OAKLAND – 7 p.m.
MARCH 8, 2014 – WRITERS WITH DRINKS, SAN FRANCISCO – 7:30 p.m.
MARCH 16, 2014 – KGB, NEW YORK – 7 p.m.
MARCH 20, 2014 – KANSAS CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY, KANSAS CITY - 6 p.m. reception, 6:30 p.m. reading/Q&A
MARCH 22, 2014 – VIRGINIA FESTIVAL OF THE BOOK, CHARLOTTESVILLE – 4 p.m.
All of the above are subject to change, so please check your local listings, as they say, before heading out. And bring your book-loving friends!
I look forward to meeting you!
JANUARY 15, 2014 – GREENLIGHT BOOKS, BROOKLYN – 7:30 p.m.
JANUARY 19, 2014 – LIT AT LARK READING SERIES, BROOKLYN – 5 p.m.
JANUARY 24, 2014 – HARVARD BOOKSTORE, CAMBRIDGE – 7 p.m.
JANUARY 25, 2014 – ALA MIDWINTER MEETING, DEBUT AUTHORS PANEL, PHILADELPHIA – 3 p.m.
JANUARY 25, 2014 – BIG BLUE MARBLE BOOKSTORE, PHILADELPHIA – 7 p.m.
FEBRUARY 27, 2014 – ASSOCIATED WRITERS & WRITING PROGRAMS CONFERENCE, SEATTLE – 9 a.m.
MARCH 3, 2014 – ELLIOTT BAY, SEATTLE – 7 p.m.
MARCH 4, 2014 – POWELL’S, PORTLAND – 7:30 p.m.
MARCH 5, 2014 – A GREAT GOOD PLACE FOR BOOKS, OAKLAND – 7 p.m.
MARCH 8, 2014 – WRITERS WITH DRINKS, SAN FRANCISCO – 7:30 p.m.
MARCH 16, 2014 – KGB, NEW YORK – 7 p.m.
MARCH 20, 2014 – KANSAS CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY, KANSAS CITY - 6 p.m. reception, 6:30 p.m. reading/Q&A
MARCH 22, 2014 – VIRGINIA FESTIVAL OF THE BOOK, CHARLOTTESVILLE – 4 p.m.
All of the above are subject to change, so please check your local listings, as they say, before heading out. And bring your book-loving friends!
I look forward to meeting you!
December 23, 2013
Publishers' Weekly Starred Review!
Publishers' Weekly gave A HIGHLY UNLIKELY SCENARIO a starred review: " ... Rife with deadpan humor and memorable characters mixed with time travel and supernatural powers, Cantor suspends disbelief and creates a loony world entirely of her own, which is terrifically funny and effortlessly enjoyable. This highly entertaining and adventurous tale will leave readers rooting for Leonard to save the world, with or without his coupons."
LibraryReads also chose A HIGHLY UNLIKELY SCENARIO as a Top 10 read for January 2014! “Think of Terry Pratchett crossed with Douglas Adams.”
Barnes & Noble, in its December 2013 gift guide "Seven Books for Fans of George Saunders" wrote “You can’t get this one till 2014, but it’s too good to keep off the list. Cantor’s book explores another vision of a corporate future, this one dominated by fast-food chains affiliated with archaic sects—the Pythagoreans run a pizza joint; tapas restaurant Jack-o-bites is, you guessed it, run by the Jacobites. (The Dadaists just run around making mischief instead of food.) But Cantor’s characters, including unlikely possible prophet and pizza-chain employee Leonard, his supernaturally powerful nephew, and the woman Leonard loves, are as earnest as Saunders’ in their attempt to live good, meaningful lives in a broken society.”
A HIGHLY UNLIKELY SCENARIO also got a rave from Library Journal: in its First Look at New Books, LJ said “Cantor’s debut novel melds whimsical SF with time traveling—philosophical, metaphysical, and political—in a literary equivalent of a mashup between Christopher Moore and Naguib Mahfouz … Verdict: Cantor’s novel will be a great hit for fans of Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe. There’s a lot going on here, and all of it is amusing.”
Still time to enter our Goodreads giveaway!
LibraryReads also chose A HIGHLY UNLIKELY SCENARIO as a Top 10 read for January 2014! “Think of Terry Pratchett crossed with Douglas Adams.”
Barnes & Noble, in its December 2013 gift guide "Seven Books for Fans of George Saunders" wrote “You can’t get this one till 2014, but it’s too good to keep off the list. Cantor’s book explores another vision of a corporate future, this one dominated by fast-food chains affiliated with archaic sects—the Pythagoreans run a pizza joint; tapas restaurant Jack-o-bites is, you guessed it, run by the Jacobites. (The Dadaists just run around making mischief instead of food.) But Cantor’s characters, including unlikely possible prophet and pizza-chain employee Leonard, his supernaturally powerful nephew, and the woman Leonard loves, are as earnest as Saunders’ in their attempt to live good, meaningful lives in a broken society.”
A HIGHLY UNLIKELY SCENARIO also got a rave from Library Journal: in its First Look at New Books, LJ said “Cantor’s debut novel melds whimsical SF with time traveling—philosophical, metaphysical, and political—in a literary equivalent of a mashup between Christopher Moore and Naguib Mahfouz … Verdict: Cantor’s novel will be a great hit for fans of Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe. There’s a lot going on here, and all of it is amusing.”
Still time to enter our Goodreads giveaway!
August 18, 2013
Reading at AWP conference in Seattle, March 2014
I will be reading from A Highly Unlikely Scenario at the meeting of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) in Seattle, Washington, in March 2014! The panel, in honor of Melville House’s 12th anniversary, will be moderated by the Melville House publishers, Valerie Merians and Dennis Loy Johnson, and also feature Christopher Boucher, who wrote the terrific novel How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive (you definitely want to read this book!), and Jeremy Bushnell, whose novel The Weirdness I can’t wait to read.
