Passion and risk, fathers and daughters, wives and single women, jazz and soul: a provocative debut novel about a diverse cast of women discovering their own voices
“Exceptional… Dark and sexy, freeing and frightening, ecstatic and lonely…. A modern masterpiece.” —Jason Reynolds, best-selling author of Look Both Ways
When Circus Palmer, a forty-year-old Boston-based trumpet player and old-school ladies’ man, learns that the woman who is secretly closest to his heart, the free-spirited drummer Maggie, is pregnant by him, he flees, setting off a chain of interlocking revelations from the various women in his life. Among them, in addition to Maggie, is his ex-wife, Pia, still finding herself after her divorce; Odessa, a stranger battling her own demons who meets Circus on a fateful bus ride; and Koko, his teenage daughter, who idolizes her father but is awakening to her own needs and desires.
Delivering a lush orchestration of diverse female voices, Warrell spins a provocative, soulful, and gripping story in answer to the age-old question: how do we find belonging when love is unrequited?
15 winners will receive a copy of Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm, courtesy of Pantheon.
Sign me up for author news about Laura Warrell, literary fiction, and more from Penguin Random House (view privacy policy).
*Giveaway entry is available to US residents only, 18 and older. Ends July 24, 2022. By entering the promotion, you consent to having your contact information provided to Penguin Random House for the purposes of prize fulfillment. If you opt-in to receive emails from Penguin Random House, Penguin Random House may email you regarding promotions, offers, and other notifications. You have the right to unsubscribe to these at any time.
For the past decade, Literary Hub has brought you the best of the book world for free—no paywall. But our future relies on you. In return for a donation, you’ll get an ad-free reading experience, exclusive editors’ picks, book giveaways, and our coveted Joan Didion Lit Hub tote bag. Most importantly, you’ll keep independent book coverage alive and thriving on the internet.