Kirjahaku

Vincent is a privileged introvert navigating his formative years at two elite Manhattan private schools in the late-2000s. He plays sports, acts, ballroom dances, and lives a teenage life of which many would dream. But as eighth grade comes to a close, Vincent will be moving from a suit-and-tie single-sex education to an easygoing, co-ed high school. His future goals consist of finding his first girlfriend, making a large group of friends, and figuring out what he wants to do for a career. Yet, his neurotic and rigid nature, troubling familial relationships, and inherent cowardice make growing up in this world exceedingly tricky and painful.The Venerable Vincent Beattie is stylistically similar to some classic, early 20th-century fiction, but the story is told through a contemporary filter, where texting, Blackberrys, Facebook, Instagram, Skype, and the 2000s' famed music and pop culture are a focal point. This relatable story occasionally cuts away from the narrative to show what music a character is listening to, along with pages of solely texted conversations. It combines the tried-and-true formula of the coming-of-age novel with updates from the new millennium, creating a fascinatingly unique reading experience.

Cash is an unemployed romantic. Skye is a successful DJ with a volcanic personality. Jefferson is the hedonistic heir to a massive fortune. Kinsley is an optimistic, workaholic social media manager. These four twenty-somethings choose to spend the summer together in the occasionally opulent and frequently overindulgent Hamptons. The group gallivants around Montauk, Sagaponack, East Hampton, Southampton, and Sag Harbor, slowly coming to grips with post-college life and adulthood in the area's most acclaimed hotspots. Each narrator has an atypical manner of sharing their stories of this summer and how the three months changed them forever. As in Wil Glavin's debut novel, The Venerable Vincent Beattie, Silhouettes South of 27 focuses heavily on how social media, texting, and smartphones have affected the dating lives of the younger millennial and zoomer generations. For some, that means frequently checking up on a partner, while others find comfort in daily "sexting." This book dives deep into these relationships and leaves readers pondering the ever-important questions of what constitutes a healthy couple and at what point are significant others being emotionally abusive or toxic? At its core, Silhouettes South of 27 is a suspenseful character study centered around truth. Speaking in the first-person narrative, all four protagonists will tell you their version of the summer of 2018. It will leave you constantly questioning: if a group of people tells you their memories of the same story, why do you believe one over another? What would make a person hide or even lie about certain events? Silhouettes South of 27 takes you on a frenzied journey that shifts from romantic to sarcastic to grotesque to mystifying to X-rated erotic to mysterious to funny, as each character's section reveals additional details, gradually untangling this frenetic web of vignettes.