Mary Beth Keane's Novel Kicks Off The Music Hall Loft's Summer Reads

On Wednesday, June 5, acclaimed author Mary Beth Keane visits with her new novel ASK AGAIN, YES, a moving story about a tragedy between two neighboring families that reverberates over four decades, testing relationships and illuminating the power of forgiveness.

The 7pm event includes an author presentation and Q+A, plus a book signing and meet-and-greet. It will be held at The Music Hall Loft at 131 Congress Street, in downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

"We're delighted to welcome Mary Beth, a writer whose skill with language is matched by her generous insight into the human heart," said Brittany Wason, The Music Hall's Literary Coordinator and the night's moderator. "I can't wait to discuss how she brought Kate and Peter's love story to such graceful life."

ABOUT THE BOOK

Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope are two NYPD rookies assigned to the same Bronx precinct in 1973. They aren't close friends on the job, but end up living next door to each other outside the city. What goes on behind closed doors in both houses-the loneliness of Francis's wife, Lena, and the instability of Brian's wife, Anne, sets the stage for the stunning events to come.

Friendship and love blossoms between Francis's youngest daughter, Kate, and Brian's son, Peter, who are born six months apart. When a violent event divides the neighbors in the spring of Kate and Peter's eighth-grade year, the Stanhopes are forced to move away, and the children are forbidden to have any further contact.

But Kate and Peter find a way back to each other, and their relationship is tested by the echoes from their past. ASK AGAIN, YES reveals how the events of childhood look different when reexamined from the distance of adulthood-villains lose their menace, and those who appeared innocent seem less so.

Mary Beth Keane attended Barnard College and the University of Virginia, where she received an MFA. In 2011, she was named one of the National Book Foundation's "5 under 35," and in 2015 she was awarded a John S. Guggenheim fellowship for fiction writing. She currently lives in Pearl River, New York with her husband and their two sons. She is the author of The Walking People and Fever.

The ticket package for Writers in the Loft: Mary Beth Keane with ASK AGAIN, YES on Wednesday, June 5, at 7pm is $41. In addition to a reserved seat, the package includes a copy of ASK AGAIN, YES ($27, hardcover), a bar beverage, author Q+A, and book signing meet-and-greet. Packages can be purchased online at TheMusicHall.org, over the phone at 603.436.2400, or in person at the B2W Box Office at the Historic Theater, 28 Chestnut Street.

Photo by Nina Subin

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