Book cover of Half Life of a Stolen Sister

Book description

Reimagines the lives of the BrontĂ« siblings—Charlotte, Emily, Anne, and brother Branwell—from their precocious childhoods, to the writing of their great novels, to their early deaths.

A form-shattering novel by an author praised as “laugh-out-loud hilarious and thought-provokingly philosophical” (Boston Globe).

How did sisters Emily, Charlotte, and Anne write literary


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Why read it?

1 author picked Half Life of a Stolen Sister as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I read this book shortly after it came out, and I was blown away by this miraculous novel. A reimagining of the lives of the famous Bronte siblings, this book mixes what is “known” of the Brontes with Rachel Cantor’s own delightful, and at times unnatural, imaginings to explore and explicate the too-short lives of three beloved English authoresses (and their brother).

I love stylistically daring work, and here, Cantor manages to weave a strong emotional thread that easily pulls the reader through various unconventional forms—a phenomenal achievement.     

If you love Half Life of a Stolen Sister...

Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue


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