“A work of wit and heart, A Hundred Thousand Worlds is for anyone who craves a smart family saga. Especially one with superheroes. I loved it completely.” — Karen Joy Fowler
Buffalo, here we come! On Thursday, August 18 at 7 pm, we will be joining Buffalo native Bob Proehl (’13) for a reading, Q&A, and book signing for his new novel, A Hundred Thousand Worlds, at Talking Leaves Books (3158 Main St.)
Also: We’ll be gathering at nearby Shango Bistro & Wine Bar (3260 Main St) between 5:30 – 6:30 pm. Buffalo alums — come join us!
Bob completed the first draft of this novel during his 2013 residency. We’re so proud! You can RSVP and share our event page for the reading here. Hope to see you there.
From the publisher:
A winning debut about a mother and son on a cross-country road trip through the world of comic-cons, for readers who love the literary-meets-genre pleasures of Lev Grossman, Emily St. John Mandel, or Kelly Link.
Valerie Torrey took her son Alex and fled Los Angeles six years ago–leaving both her role on an X-Files-ish TV show and her co-star husband after a spectacular tragedy blew their small family apart. Now Val must reunite 9-year-old Alex with his estranged father, so they set out on a road trip from New York, Val making appearances at comic book conventions along the way.
As they travel west, encountering superheroes, monsters, time travelers, and robots, Val and Alex are drawn into the orbit of the comic-con regulars, from a hapless twenty-something illustrator to a lesbian comics writer to a group of cosplay women who provide a chorus of knowing commentary. For Alex, this world is a magical place where fiction becomes reality, but as they get closer to their destination, he begins to realize that the story his mother is telling him about their journey might have a very different ending than he imagined.
A debut from an exciting new writer that combines winning characters and emotional heft with a deliciously knowing portrait of the alternate universe of fandom, A HUNDRED THOUSAND WORLDS is at heart a tribute to the fierce and complicated love between a mother and son–and to the way the stories we create come to shape us.
(Photo: Bob Proehl at Saltonstall, 2013)