November 3, 2006
Director of Media Relations
413/542-8417
AMHERST, Mass.—Celebrated novelist Katharine Weber, a New York native and author of four critically acclaimed novels, will appear at Amherst Books (8 Main Street) at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 14. Weber will read from Triangle, her latest novel that explores the lingering questions surrounding the devastating Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire of 1911. This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. The talk is sponsored by the Amherst College Creative Writing Center.
Weber’s novel, which the Los Angeles Times calls “an unabashedly witty, boldly postmodern approach to an iconic American tragedy,” begins with the death of Esther Gottesfeld, the last survivor of the infamous factory fire. When news of her death leaves those around her still questioning how she alone survived the tragedy, both Esther’s granddaughter and an agenda-driven feminist historian vow to uncover the truth behind the deepening mystery. The result is what Cynthia Ozick applauds as “a marvel of ingenuity…a wide-awake novel as powerful as it is persuasive, probing and capturing human verities.”
Weber began her fiction career writing short stories for The New Yorker. Her three previous novels—The Little Women, The Music Lesson and Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear—were named Notable Books by The New York Times Book Review. In 1996 Weber was selected by the U.K.-based Granta literary magazine for inclusion in its controversial list of 50 Best Young American Novelists, and her novel The Music Lesson has been translated into 11 languages. She is currently a trustee and administrator for the Kay Swift Memorial Trust, founded to preserve the memory of Kay Swift, the first female songwriter on Broadway and Weber’s maternal grandmother.
The Amherst College Creative Writing Center puts on a yearly reading series featuring both emerging and established authors. For more information, please call 413/542-8200.
###