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Community Board: A Novel Hardcover – March 28, 2023
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The New York Times bestselling author of The Last Romantics deliversa wise, timely, big-hearted novel of unplanned isolation and newly forged community.
Where does one go, you might ask, when the world falls apart? When the immutable facts of your life—the mundane, the trivial, the take-for-granted minutiae that once filled every second of every day—suddenly disappear? Where does one go in such dire and unexpected circumstances?
I went home, of course.
MURBRIDGE COMMUNITY MESSAGE BOARD
FREE: 500 cans of corn. Accidentally ordered them online. I really hate corn. Happy to help load.
REMINDER: use your own goddamn garbage can for your own goddamn pet waste. I’m looking at you Peter Luflin.
REMINDER: monthly Select Board meeting this Friday. Agenda items: 1) sludge removal; 2) upkeep of chime tower; 3) ice rink monitor thank you gift. Questions? Contact Hildegard Hyman, HHMurbridge@gmail.com
Darcy Clipper, prodigal daughter, nearly thirty, has returned home to Murbridge, Massachusetts, after her life takes an unwelcome left turn. Murbridge, Darcy is convinced, will welcome her home and provide a safe space in which she can nurse her wounds and harbor grudges, both real and imagined.
But Murbridge, like so much else Darcy thought to be fixed and immutable, has changed. And while Darcy’s first instinct might be to hole herself up in her childhood bedroom, subsisting on Chef Boy-R-Dee and canned chickpeas, it is human nature to do two things: seek out meaningful human connection and respond to anonymous internet postings. As Murbridge begins to take shape around Darcy, both online and in person, Darcy will consider the most fundamental of American questions: What can she ask of her community? And what does she owe it in return?
- Print length272 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherMariner Books
- Publication dateMarch 28, 2023
- Dimensions6 x 0.93 x 9 inches
- ISBN-100062959379
- ISBN-13978-0062959379
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From the Publisher
Community Board | The Last Romantics | The House Girl | |
---|---|---|---|
Customer Reviews |
3.8 out of 5 stars
242
|
4.2 out of 5 stars
4,475
|
4.2 out of 5 stars
7,424
|
Price | $16.59$16.59 | $10.99$10.99 | $11.29$11.29 |
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Sometimes we’re not ready to jump. We need a little push. When Darcy Clipper — a heroine for the ages — gets a major shove, she finds herself in a brave new world of second chances, radical decisions, and transformative change. Funny, cinematic, and heartfelt, Community Board is a propulsive delight.” — Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Exiles
“I can’t believe how good this book is! Tara Conklin once again dazzles with a hilarious, heartfelt, and wholly original tale. She writes about depression and grief with such a light touch, and her mesmerizing sentences immediately draw you into this quirky and fun community—one I was sad to leave behind! Read this!”
— Etaf Rum, author of the New York Times bestseller A Woman Is No Man
“A brilliant, hilarious look at modern-day community and the distance between who we are and who we say we are. Insightful, honest, and surprisingly sly. I loved this book.” — Maria Semple
“A droll investigation of what we owe our neighbors and ourselves.”
— Vanity Fair
“Conklin delivers a winning third novel, with Darcy’s smart, introspective voice at the heart of it. Her unconventional adventures (often hilarious, always interesting) drive home the importance of community and how important it is to show up and participate.” — Booklist
“Oh, how I loved this delightful, unputdownable novel! A pitch-perfect comedy of manners, a balm for difficult times, a charming coming of age story, Community Board is ultimately the literary equivalent of a warm hug.”
— Joanna Rakoff, bestselling author of My Salinger Year
"Timely and hilarious! For all its madcap glory, COMMUNITY BOARD is a sweet and surprisingly plausible tale for our time."
— Jonathan Evison, author of Small World
“Tara Conklin’s brilliance jumps from the pages of this quirky delicious delight. I loved every second of this fabulous take on community and the on-line board that unites them.”
— Jane L. Rosen, author of Eliza Starts a Rumor
"A bittersweet, laugh-out-loud novel...Community Board is a crafty send-up about one woman struggling to come to terms with--and rebuild--her battered self-esteem.... Darcy may seem a poor soul, but her sharp, bright, enlightened mind--and her snarky, lovably endearing narrative voice, supplemented with zany e-mails and community posts--will easily win the affection of readers rooting wholeheartedly for her reinvention." — Shelf Awareness
“Conklin has created a heartening look at a community whose people realize they're better together than alone.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Heartwarming, hilarious.” — BookBub
About the Author
Tara Conklin was born on St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands and raised in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. She is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Last Romantics and The House Girl.
Product details
- Publisher : Mariner Books (March 28, 2023)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 272 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0062959379
- ISBN-13 : 978-0062959379
- Item Weight : 14.7 ounces
- Dimensions : 6 x 0.93 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #631,516 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #9,379 in Family Life Fiction (Books)
- #9,599 in Women's Domestic Life Fiction
- #30,177 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Tara Conklin was born on St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands and raised in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. She is the author of the New York Times bestsellers, THE HOUSE GIRL and THE LAST ROMANTICS. Her third novel, COMMUNITY BOARD, is out on March 28, 2023. Visit www.taraconklin.com for more information.
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Darcy is a 29 recently separated, (who in no way was ready for her husband to suddenly leave her for another woman) regimented and someone emotionally stunted woman.. To say she is devastated is an understatement. She takes time away from her job and goes to her childhood home in Murbridge, MA to figure out her next moves. Once she arrives though - she realizes her parents have essentially moved to a senior community in Arizona without telling her. This news just sends her more fully into a tailspin. She survives on canned food her parents stored in preparation for the unknown consequence of the year turning 2000.
In a series of unsent letters to her ex-husband, messages on the community board and emails to her parents, she starts off as a self-absorbed, quite unlikeable character who blames her indulgent and loving parents for most of her problems. Lucky for the reader though, she is forced to come out of her forced hibernation in order to earn money once her stash of canned food is running out. She begins in essence to redefine the person she is into the person she wants to be. In the process she finds community, finds purpose, self-awareness and maturity.
She is such a quirky character and this book had me laughing out loud so many times. It is not a long book, so it felt like a quick, easy read. The last half of the book felt much more deep and meaningful. I definitely enjoyed this book, but I wouldn't say it blew me away. I loved the humorous bits and I loved so many of the zany community characters.
"But more often the end comes, kaput, without fanfare or signal."
Basically this is story of a woman who feels like she has lost everything, even herself. Then she must figure out how to redefine herself and move on. Definitely recommend. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC to read and review.
This one is quirky in both tone and structure. It's separated into four sections—one for each season—but lacks other breaks. There aren't numbered chapters. There aren't mid-chapter breaks with little symbols to indicate a pause or passage of time. There aren't quotation marks. Once I got used to the structure, things flowed pretty well for me, but it did take some getting used to.
If you pick this one up, be aware that with that major upheaval in Darcy's life comes depression. She shuts herself off from the world. She's grieving and snarky and salty. And after being closed off for such a long period of time, it takes her time to reacclimate to being around people again. Honestly, this part of the story reminded me of coming back into the world after things shut down for COVID. Darcy seems socially stunted and awkward around people when she reemerges.
The Murbridge Community Board itself is so representative of what you see on sites and apps like Facebook and Nextdoor. You get the good, the bad, the petty, and the ridiculous. Some of the posts had me laughing out loud.
And I adored the characters that brought Darcy back out of her shell. She needed them, and they needed her. Their friendships provided her with both found family opportunities and a new perspective on her life.
Overall, this book was different from what I typically read, but I enjoyed it.
I received an advance copy from Book Club Girl, Mariner Books, and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.