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X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://entertainmentguidemn.com/
X-WR-CALNAME:The Entertainment Guide
X-WR-CALDESC:THE source for regional happenings in Southern Minn
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250819T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250819T203000
DTSTAMP:20250603T125400
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CREATED:20250603
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SUMMARY:Thomas Maltman’s ASHES TO ASHES
DESCRIPTION:Content welcomes Thomas Maltman for a reading from his new novel ASHES TO ASHES. Join us on Tuesday, August 19th at 7 pm, when he’ll be in conversation with Benjamin Percy.\nSmall-town Minnesota teenager Basil “The Brute” Thorson—a shy, reluctant wrestling star and “special” tracked into special education classes—vows to make his family whole again in the wake of multiple tragedies, during a year in which his community is roiled by strange religious and mythological events.\nAnother perceptive and empathetic novel from the author of Indie Next and All Iowa Reads selection Little Wolves, blending myth, history, and religion with a nuanced look at contemporary rural life, perfect for fans of Marilynne Robinson, Richard Russo, and Paul Harding.\nWhen the ashes from an Ash Wednesday service in the prairie town of Andwhen, Minnesota, refuse to wash off, members of a small congregation are left wondering whether they’ve been blessed or cursed. For Basil—a “gentle giant” of a teen reeling from a farming accident that shattered his family and haunted by his mother’s decade-long confinement in a state mental hospital—the ashes become a sign. He embarks on a secret ritual of fasting and prayer, seeking meaning in his unraveling world.\nMeanwhile, Basil and his friends, Lukas and Morgan (who self-identify as “a gay, a goth, and a giant”), stumble upon what may be the centuries-old remains of a Viking explorer in a local meadow, a find that brings its own complications, as folk history clashes with the agendas of online racists. As Basil’s relentless fasting warps his grip on reality, the danger he poses to himself and his family escalates.\nBlending the fragments of a Norse saga with a finely observed portrait of rural Midwestern life at the start of the pandemic, Thomas Maltman delivers a novel of narrative daring and profound empathy—his most inventive and compassionate work yet.\nThomas Maltman’s first novel, The Night Birds, won an Alex Award, a Spur Award, and the Friends of American Writers Literary Award. In 2009 the American Library Association chose The Night Birds as an “Outstanding Book for the College Bound.” Little Wolves, his second novel, was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award and won the All Iowa Reads selection in 2014. He teaches at Normandale Community College and lives in the Twin Cities area with his wife, a Lutheran pastor, and his three daughters. His third novel, The Land, was published by Soho Press in October, 2020. In July of 2025, Soho Press will publish his fourth novel, Ashes to Ashes.\nBenjamin Percy has won a Whiting Award, a Plimpton Prize, two Pushcart Prizes, an NEA fellowship, and the iHeartRadio Award for Best Scripted Podcast. He is the author of the novels THE NINTH METAL, THE UNFAMILIAR GARDEN, THE DARK NET, THE DEAD LANDS, RED MOON, and THE WILDING; three story collections; and an essay collection, THRILL ME. He also writes Wolverine and X-Force for Marvel Comics. He lives in Minnesota with his family.\n
URL:https://contentbookstore.com/events/2874820250819
CATEGORIES:Author,Books,Presentation,Shopping
LOCATION:314 Division St., Northfield, MN
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