ALL BUT TRUE: THE MUSEHOUSE FICTION SERIES

Start: 05/09/2015, 7:00 pm

Where: Chestnut Hill Gallery, 8117 Germantown Avenue, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia

When: May 9, 2015, 7:00 pm

Includes discussion with the authors, a book signing, and complimentary refreshments.

Dear Philly-area fiction readers,

On Saturday, May 9, ALL BUT TRUE: THE MUSEHOUSE FICTION SERIES presents two writers of tales about dreams lost and memories regained.

Julia MacDonnell reads from her first novel in 20 years: Mimi Malloy, At Last! (Picador USA). When an MRI reveals that Mimi Malloy, an Irish-Catholic mother of five, has black spots on her brain, her grown daughters force her into retirement. However, fiery and feisty Mimi knows her mind is as sharp as ever, and she won’t go down without a fight. Finding an old pendant of her mother’s, her memory starts to return: a painful childhood, a sister sent away to Ireland, a wicked stepmother she swore to forget. While a surprise affair blooms between Mimi and her building’s superintendent, Mimi strives to recover what she’s repressed. She must use the past to make sense of the present — for herself and for her family.

Louis Greenstein reads from his debut novel, Mr. Boardwalk (New Door Books). At the age of seven, Jason Benson first experiences the wonders of Atlantic City and decides his real life will happen here, in this magical shore town. Growing up in a Philadelphia suburb in the 1960s and 1970s, he lives only for his summers on the boardwalk, where his father owns a pretzel stand. From a gypsy friend the boy learns to juggle, and soon “Jason the Magnificent” entertains rapt beachside crowds with his skill and clever patter. He can’t wait to finish high school so he can move to Atlantic City permanently. But his plans go awry, and more than 20 years later, we meet him as a grumpy, distant New York copywriter who has never spoken of his youth. All his adventures on the boardwalk — and all the dreams he cherished there — remain a secret. In deftly interwoven passages, Mr. Boardwalk traces the excitement and perils of the young Jason and the moral growth of the adult who must come to terms with the past he tried to forget. It is a dual coming-of-age story like no other — a tale of magic and reality intertwined.

This Musehouse event includes discussion with the authors, a book signing, and complimentary refreshments.