Bill Roorbach

An ebullient, funny, and hugely original novel told from the perspective of Beep, a squirrel monkey who-with the help of a brilliant young girl- forges the way forward for a planet in crisis.?In this immensely enjoyable and wise novel, it takes a sweet and personable squirrel monkey, Beep, to help us see the world we live in more clearly. While intending only to go deeper and higher into the Costa Rican rain forest to find a mate, he instead meets Inga, a kindly American tween on vacation with her family. Inadvertently, Beep travels to Manhattan with Inga. With her devoted help-and a bit of inspiration from a visiting Greta Thunberg, along with a dramatic zoo liberation-Beep manages to change the destiny of the world. He even finds his monkey love. Along the way, a vast cast of engaging and perceptive animals have a great deal to say about humanity and the divisions among us, our alien cities, our strange practices, our folly, as well as our beauty, and our promise, unfulfilled.For fans of Shelby Van Pelt's Remarkably Bright Creatures and Dave Eggers's The Eyes and the Impossible, Beep is full of humor, inspiration, and remarkable new ways of understanding how we live. Urgent but never earnest in the face of the increasing threats to our planet, Beep the monkey inspires us all to stop being the problem and start being the solution, loving and laughing all the way.

In the tradition of Shelby Van Pelt's Remarkably Bright Creatures, an ebullient, funny-and hugely original- novel about the friendship between a brilliant young girl and a perceptive squirrel monkey, the power of youth, and the way forward for a planet in crisis. In this immensely enjoyable novel, it takes a sweet and personable squirrel monkey, Beep, to help us see the world we live in more clearly. While intending only to go deeper and higher into the Costa Rican rain forest to find a mate, he instead meets Inga, a kindly and loving American teenager on vacation with her family. Inadvertently, often hilariously, Beep makes his way back to New York with Inga, and with her courageously devoted help-and a bit of inspiration from a visiting Greta Thunberg, along with a dramatic zoo escape-and with the help of just about every animal on earth, Beep manages to change the destiny of the world. Along the way, he has a great deal to say about humanity and the divisions among us, our alien cities, our strange practices, our false superiority, our vanity, our entitlement, our folly, as well as our beauty, and our promise, unfulfilled.With a cast of equally engaging and perceptive animals, Beep is irresistibly appealing. Neither earnest nor preachy, it is full of humor and inspiration and remarkable new ways of understanding how we live. Beep conveys an urgent message-the increasing threats to our planet-lightly, urging us to wake up while there is still time.

"No one writes about love or the American wilderness like Bill Roorbach . . . Thrilling." -Lily King, author of Writers & Lovers and Five Tuesdays in WinterA New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice When sixteen-year-old Cindra Zoeller is sent to a reform camp in Montana after being involved in an armed robbery, she is thrust into a world of mountains and cowboys and miscreants. At Camp Challenge, she becomes transfixed by Lucky, a camp employee of mysterious origin-an origin of constant speculation-and the chemistry between them is instant, and profound. The pair escape together into the wilderness to create an idyllic life far from the reach of the law, living off their resounding love, Lucky's vast knowledge of the wilderness, and a little help from some friends. But they can run from the outside world for only so long, and the consequences of their naïve fantasy of a future together-and circumstances shaped by skin colour-will keep them apart for decades. Will Cindra ever see her soulmate again? Or are the dark whispers true?Page-turning, full of vivid characters, delicious suspense, and ultimately joy, Lucky Turtle is a big- hearted, deeply engrossing love story from one of our most entertaining and perceptive writers.

“An epic love story . . . No greater reading pleasure to be had anywhere.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review “No one writes about love or the American wilderness like Bill Roorbach . . . Thrilling.” —Lily King, author of Writers & Lovers and Five Tuesdays in Winter When sixteen-year-old Cindra Zoeller is sent to a reform camp in Montana after being involved in an armed robbery, she is thrust into a world of mountains and cowboys and prayers and miscreants and people from all walks of life like she’s never seen in suburban Massachusetts. At Camp Challenge, she becomes transfixed by Lucky, a camp employee of mysterious origin—an origin of constant speculation—and the chemistry between them is instant, and profound. The pair escape together into the wilderness to create an idyllic life far from the reach of the law, living off their resounding love, Lucky’s vast knowledge of the wilderness, and a little help from some friends. But they can run from the outside world for only so long, and the consequences of their naïve fantasy of a future together—and circumstances shaped by skin color—will keep them apart for decades. Cindra gets trapped in a relationship, safely if stultifyingly suburban, where she is both cosseted and controlled by a man who claims to be her rescuer. But for Cindra, there will never be another Lucky, and she dreams of one day finding him, the only man she’s ever fully trusted, her soulmate. Page-turning, full of vivid characters, delicious suspense, and ultimately joy, Lucky Turtle is a big- hearted, deeply engrossing love story from one of our most entertaining and perceptive writers.

Nine richly varied, often funny, always moving stories that reveal the complex workings of the human heart. Bill Roorbach conjures vivid characters whose layered interior worlds feel at once familiar and extraordinary. He first made his mark as the winner of an O. Henry Prize for the title story of Big Bend, his first collection, which won the Flannery O'Connor Award. His new collection, The Girl of the Lake, captures a virtuoso in his prime. Roorbach's characters are unforgettable: among them an adventurous boy who learns what courage really is when an aging nobleman recounts history to him; a couple hiking through the mountains whose vacation and relationship ends catastrophically; a teenager being pursued by three sisters all at once; a tech genius who exacts revenge on his wife and best friend over a stolen kiss from years past. These moving and funny stories are as rich in scope, emotional, and memorable as Bill Roorbach's novels. He has been called "a kinder, gentler John Irving... a humane and entertaining storyteller with a smooth, graceful style" (the Washington Post), and his work has been described as "hilarious and heartbreaking, wild and wise" (Parade magazine), all of which is evident in spades (and also hearts, clubs, and diamonds) in every story in this arresting new collection.

Into Woods is an exuberant, profound, and often wonderfully funny account of ten years in the life of author Bill Roorbach. A paean to nature, love, family, and place, it begins with his honeymoon on a wine farm in France's Loire Valley and closes with the birth of his daughter and he and his wife's return to their beloved Maine. These essays blend journalism, memoir, personal narrative, nature writing, cultural criticism, and insight into a flowing narrative of place, a meditation on being and belonging, love and death, wonder and foreboding.

"A page-turner, a love story and a vivid drama of man (and woman) against the elements . . . A great read by a wonderful writer." --Newsday When the "Storm of the Century" threatens western Maine, Eric closes his office early and heads to the grocery store. In line ahead of him, an unkempt and seemingly unstable young woman comes up short on cash, so Eric offers her twenty bucks and a ride home. Trouble is, Danielle doesn't really have a home. She's squatting in a cabin deep in the woods: no electricity, no plumbing, no heat. Eric, with problems of his own, tries to walk away, but finds he can't. Fending off her mistrust of him, he gets her set up with food, water, and firewood, and departs with relief. But when he climbs back to the road, his car is gone, and in desperation he returns to the cabin. As the storm intensifies, these two lost souls are forced to wait it out together. Deeply moving, frequently funny, The Remedy for Love is a story about the secrets revealed when there is no time or space for anything but the truth. "A superbly grown-uplove story." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review "Brilliant . . . A tale that is as gripping as any Everest expedition--and that is also tender and terrifying and funny and, in the end, so true it seems inevitable." --Peter Heller, author of The Dog Stars and The Painter "Roorbach . . . is at the top of his literary game here. He is masterful in inviting readers along, allowing them to slowly get to know these two strangers as they get to know one another." --Portland (Maine) Press Herald "Snowbound in Maine, two strangers struggle to survive--fighting, flirting, baring secrets. Their sexy, snappy dialogue will keep you racing through." --People "One of the best novels of this or any year . . . A flat-out funny, sexy, and poignant romantic thriller." --David Abrams, author of Fobbit

Great blue herons, yellow birches, damselflies, and beavers are among the talismans by which Bill Roorbach uncovers a natural universe along the stream that runs by his house in Farmington, Maine. Populated by an oddball cast of characters to whom Roorbach ("The Professor") and his family might always be considered outsiders, this book chronicles one man's determined effort—occasionally with hilarious results—to follow his stream to its elusive source. Acclaimed essayist and award-winning fiction writer Bill Roorbach uses his singular literary gifts to inspire us to laugh, love, and experience the wonder of living side by side with the natural world.

Through quirky plots, one-of-kind characters, and more than a few twists, the stories in Big Bend examine gentle-hearted men and their relationships. From made-in-heaven meetings to troublesome liaisons, Roorbach's characters experience romance in unexpected, sometimes disastrous ways.In "Fog," a teenage boy learns hard lessons about canoes, the Gulf of Maine, sex, and love. A struggling young artist goes home for the holidays in search of succor for the stomach—and heart—with poor results in "Thanksgiving." Other stories recount the ultimately disastrous reunion of estranged friends, an unemployed architect's foolish courting with bad company, and a middle-aged rock star's struggle with the urge to settle down. In the tiitle story, "Big Bend," a grieving widower, troubled by his own waning years, is tempted by a seductively attentive birdwatcher no older than his daughter.Poignant tales of hauntingly familiar situations, Bill Roorbach's stories are full of heart, romance, edgy humor, and the frequently concealed vulnerability of men.

This funny, exuberant novel captures the reader with the grand sweep of seven-foot-tall David "Lizard" Hochmeyer's larger-than-life quest to unravel the mystery surrounding his parents' deaths. It's a journey laden with pro football stars, a master chef and his beautiful transvestite lover, a world-famous ballerina and her English rocker husband, and a sister who's as brilliant as she is unstable. A wildly entertaining, plot-twisting novel of murder, seduction, and revenge--rich in incident, expansive in character, and lavish in setting--Life Among Giants is an exhilarating adventure. Editors' pick for Amazon's Best of 2012 Shelf Awareness Top Ten Best Fiction of 2012 Columbus Dispatch's Top Books of 2012

How to Make Memories into Memoirs, Ideas into Essays, and Life into LiteratureFrom drawing a map of a remembered neighborhood to signing a form releasing yourself to take risks in your work, Roorbach offers innovative techniques that will trigger ideas for all writers.Writing Life Stories is a classic text that appears on countless creative nonfiction and composition syllabi the world over. This updated 10th anniversary edition gives you the same friendly instruction and stimulating exercises along with updated information on current memoir writing trends, ethics, internet research, and even marketing ideas. You'll discover how to turn your untold life stories into vivid personal essays and riveting memoirs by learning to open up memory, access emotions, shape scenes from experience, develop characters, and research supporting details.This guide will teach you to see your life more clearly and show you why real stories are often the best ones.

Bob, living in a farmhouse near the pond, buys a dilapidated camp at the water's edge and finds his way down there almost daily, to swim or ski, depending on the season. His friends discover the allure of the pond, too--summer afternoons of swimming with Bob, his wife Rita, and an assortment of canine dog-paddlers, or companionable conversations over a beer, enjoying the beauty of a quiet pond beyond the porch. Bob tells the McNairs about a neighboring camp up for sale, a perfect little camp, compact as a ship in all its details, and they buy it. Roorbach feels drawn to the pond so strongly that he and his wife sometimes bushwack through underbrush so as not to intrude, but the pond is a place where this trio of friendships flourishes. Told with humor and affection, the stories in this small book will appeal to anyone who feels drawn to spend time near water.

This book of stories offers nine good reasons to get to know these tender, troubled, and endearing characters. These award-winning stories are full of grit and hope, good sex and bad luck. Bill Roorbach's men are sweet and passionate and usually kind. They may seem like losers but at least they're trying, and sometimes even when misguided, they actually get it right.In settings ranging from New York to California, Michigan to Texas, these stories are small miracles that offer the sweep and scope and completeness of little novels. There is a rare assuredness in these tales of men in motion --moving from swagger to sweetness, from machismo to tenderness, and from loneliness toward love.

A suspenseful first novel about two brothers and the thirty-year secret between them. Our secrets can come to define us, and sometimes after lying asleep for a long spell, a secret can awake frantic and hungry. Coop Henry's secret needs attention. His missing brother haunts his life and his life isn't holding up well under the strain. When his mother threatens to hire a detective in one last desperate attempt to discover what has happened to his brother thirty years before, Coop's life begins to come unglued. Not even a glimmer of new love in his life can rescue him. It may be that only his missing brother holds the answers --and that possibility is devastating, to Coop and to nearly everyone in his life.