"Modeled in part on the lives of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath, [Miniatures] is riveting in a far broader sense, with a sharp, confident, fascinating digressive style."—Minneapolis Star Tribune A 2003 American Library Association Notable Book and Minnesota Book Award winner, Miniatures is the haunting story of a young girl in Ireland, two reclusive writers, a mysterious suicide, and the bundle of hidden letters that tie them all together. Young and impetuous, Fern Jacobi, is traveling in Ireland when she meets two famous and scandal-ridden American expatriates. The renowned author, Owen Lieb and his beautiful second wife Brigid have just returned to Galway after years of self-imposed exile. The couple befriends Fern, who accepts a job cleaning their long-abandoned home. But even after two decades, mystery shrouds the fate of Owen's first wife, Franny, who died in the same remote country house where the three now reside. Since her untimely death at the age of thirty, Franny, also a writer, has become a cult icon. Rumors about her unpublished second book and controversial letters continue to fuel endless speculation about the circumstances and aftermath of her death. As the days of fall turn short and dark, Fern discovers the shocking truth about the Liebs, and comes to understand too well the dark underside of celebrity. |