A bracing, emotional tale about two families in Boston struggling in the aftermath of betrayal and the illuminating influence of an ancient Jewish practice called the Counting of the Omer, which spans 49 days every spring.
In her precise, lyrical prose, Jessica Keener reveals the hidden lives of Rachel Cohen, a career environmentalist, who discovers her husband has been having an affair; Cynthia Meyers, a successful executive who is facing her own failures as a mother; Lawrence Peterson, a tired high school vice principal trapped in loneliness; and Lauren Meyers, a teenager on the verge of dropping out of high school, who feels betrayed by her mother. Over the course of seven weeks, the currents of these seemingly disparate lives intertwine and coalesce in the novel's stunning conclusion.
Multi-layered and gripping, Evening Begins the Day shines a light on the complexity of family dynamics and close relationships in crisis. Blending a modern sensibility with the story of the Jewish Exodus, the novel embraces the many ways in which we are vulnerable, flawed, despairing, confused, and most of all, yearning to be free—to love and be loved.
Genre: Literary Fiction
In her precise, lyrical prose, Jessica Keener reveals the hidden lives of Rachel Cohen, a career environmentalist, who discovers her husband has been having an affair; Cynthia Meyers, a successful executive who is facing her own failures as a mother; Lawrence Peterson, a tired high school vice principal trapped in loneliness; and Lauren Meyers, a teenager on the verge of dropping out of high school, who feels betrayed by her mother. Over the course of seven weeks, the currents of these seemingly disparate lives intertwine and coalesce in the novel's stunning conclusion.
Multi-layered and gripping, Evening Begins the Day shines a light on the complexity of family dynamics and close relationships in crisis. Blending a modern sensibility with the story of the Jewish Exodus, the novel embraces the many ways in which we are vulnerable, flawed, despairing, confused, and most of all, yearning to be free—to love and be loved.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Praise for this book
"I live for books like this." - Alex George
"Evening Begins the Day follows lives drifting through their own wildernesses. As a marriage shaken by infidelity and a mother trying to keep her daughter safe without losing her trust begin to overlap in unexpected ways, the novel unfolds like a confession: honest, intimate, and impossible to put down. It asks how we measure love and live with uncertainty when trust is broken and relationships feel like guessing in the dark. A gorgeous, important work of hard-earned love, and you will be changed by reading it." - Susan Henderson
"What does it mean to totally trust someone you love, be it a partner or child, your job, or even the world around you? Keener's new novel springs from an emotional affair and soars into the lives of two very different families in a way that's both propulsive and spiritual. Deeply immersive, comforting, inspiring, and real, Evening Begins the Day made me see and experience these indelible characters' world-and my own-differently." - Caroline Leavitt
"With an emotional sensitivity and clarity of prose that reminds me of writers like Ann Napolitano and Elizabeth Strout, Jessica Keener brings to life a tale of two families in crisis and how these modern skeptical people stumble into an ancient spiritual practice that haltingly and convincingly brings them to hope, love, and solace. This is a beautiful and ultimately uplifting book." - Elizabeth Letts
"A magnificent work of fiction. With spare, gorgeous insight and a compelling sense of pace, [Keener] maps how small, everyday moments drive the larger, at times irrevocable, events of a life." - Dawn Tripp
"Evening Begins the Day follows lives drifting through their own wildernesses. As a marriage shaken by infidelity and a mother trying to keep her daughter safe without losing her trust begin to overlap in unexpected ways, the novel unfolds like a confession: honest, intimate, and impossible to put down. It asks how we measure love and live with uncertainty when trust is broken and relationships feel like guessing in the dark. A gorgeous, important work of hard-earned love, and you will be changed by reading it." - Susan Henderson
"What does it mean to totally trust someone you love, be it a partner or child, your job, or even the world around you? Keener's new novel springs from an emotional affair and soars into the lives of two very different families in a way that's both propulsive and spiritual. Deeply immersive, comforting, inspiring, and real, Evening Begins the Day made me see and experience these indelible characters' world-and my own-differently." - Caroline Leavitt
"With an emotional sensitivity and clarity of prose that reminds me of writers like Ann Napolitano and Elizabeth Strout, Jessica Keener brings to life a tale of two families in crisis and how these modern skeptical people stumble into an ancient spiritual practice that haltingly and convincingly brings them to hope, love, and solace. This is a beautiful and ultimately uplifting book." - Elizabeth Letts
"A magnificent work of fiction. With spare, gorgeous insight and a compelling sense of pace, [Keener] maps how small, everyday moments drive the larger, at times irrevocable, events of a life." - Dawn Tripp
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