They Came Like Swallows

They Came Like Swallows - Paperback

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$18.00
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They Came Like Swallows
  • They Came Like Swallows
They Came Like Swallows - Paperback

They Came Like Swallows - Paperback

by William Maxwell
$18.00
$18.00

Book Overview

From the National Book Award-winning author of So Long, See You Tomorrow--the heartbreaking story of an ordinary American family overtaken by the devastating flu epidemic of 1918.

"William Maxwell is one of the past half-century's unmistakably great novelists." ―Village Voice

To eight-year old Bunny Morison, his mother is an angelic comforter in whose absence nothing is real or alive. To his older brother, Robert, his mother is someone he must protect, especially since the deadly, influenza epidemic of 1918 is ravaging their small Midwestern town. To James Morison, his wife, Elizabeth, is the center of a life that would disintegrate all too suddenly were she to disappear.

Through the eyes of these characters, William Maxwell creates a sensitive portrait of an American family and of the complex woman who is its emotional pillar. Beautifully observed, deftly rendering the civilities and constraints of a vanished era, They Came Like Swallows measures the subterranean currents of love and need that run through all our lives. The result confirms Maxwell's reputation as one of the finest writers we have.

Front Jacket

hrough the eyes of two boys and their father, William Maxwell reveals the complex woman who is the unacknowledged source of their happiness--and whose death during the influenza epic of 1918 will devastate them all. They Came Like Swallows tenderly depicts the currents of love and need that run through every family--and whose true depth becomes evident only in moments of tragedy.
ISBN9780679772576
Author William Maxwell
PublisherKnopf Doubleday Publishing Group
GenreLiterature
FormatPaperback
PublishedMarch 1997
LanguageENG- English
Pages192
Weight1.0 lb
Target AudienceAdults
Print SizeStandard Print

Related Subjects

Family Life Fiction Historical Fiction Literary

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More by William Maxwell

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Ancestors: A Family History - Paperback

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About William Maxwell

William Keepers Maxwell Jr. was an American editor, novelist, short story writer, essayist, children's author, and memoirist. He served as a fiction editor at The New Yorker from 1936 to 1975.

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