Under the Rainbow
A Novel
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Under the Rainbow
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Written by:
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Celia Laskey
About this listen
Longlisted for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize
"Delivered with such conviction and grace...fresh...essential.” (The New York Times Book Review)
When outsiders on a mission arrive to change a small town’s attitudes, residents and newcomers alike end up transformed.
Big Burr, Kansas is the kind of place where everyone seems to know everyone - or so they think. But when a national nonprofit labels Big Burr “the most homophobic town in the US” and sends in a queer task force to live and work there for two years, no one is prepared for what will ensue.
Still grieving the death of her son, Linda welcomes the newcomers, who know mercifully little about her past. Teenage Avery, furious at being uprooted from her life in L.A. and desperate to fit in at her new high school, fears it’s only a matter of time before her classmates discover her mom is the head of the task force. And Gabe, an avid hunter who has lived in Big Burr his whole life, suddenly feels as if he’s in the crosshairs.
As tensions roil the town, cratering relationships and bringing difficult truths to light, both long time residents and new arrivals must reconsider what it means to belong.
Told with warmth and wit, Under the Rainbow is a poignant, hopeful articulation of our complicated humanity and the ways we can learn to live with each other and ourselves.
©2020 Celia Laskey (P)2020 Penguin AudioWhat the critics say
"Celia Laskey's Under the Rainbow is a timely look into what it means to be queer in spaces that aggressively refuse you. Smart and compulsively readable, Laskey has woven together narratives that seek to embrace each other through the hurt. There is love and loss alike sandwiched in its pages; pain and pleasure. Laskey is a talented, sharp writer and her debut novel has its fingers on the pulse of the human condition." (Kristen Arnett, author of the New York Times best seller Mostly Dead Things)
"Celia Laskey has written an excellent, big-hearted, and very funny novel about our contemporary divisions and grievances. Under the Rainbow is wonderfully current, yet it refuses to sacrifice love or empathy to politics, it refuses despair and destruction. Those of us who moved away from the rural places where we were born will recognize every one of her remarkable characters, and find in their braided stories incredible pathos and joy." (Shannon Pufahl, author of On Swift Horses)
"Under the Rainbow marks the arrival of a wildly talented, observant, political, feminist writer to the literary ranks. Celia Laskey is a true original, and she’s here to stay." (Emily Rapp Black, author of New York Times best seller The Still Point of the Turning World)
What listeners say about Under the Rainbow
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anna
- 2022-07-05
Interesting narrative approach!
Each chapter is a different character and doesn't necessarily connect with all the other characters. You have to really pay attention so you don't miss anything and it can be hard to remember who is who. I think this book may be better to read in print than listen to!
I LOVED the second last chapter.
Some beautiful storytelling.
Some really clever, in-depth 3d character development
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