The Afterlife of Emerson Tang: A Novel

Synopsis

A mystery surrounding a vintage car lies at the heart of this &“moving, psychologically complex&” novel of life, death, and history (Providence Journal). A beloved car becomes a piece of us—a way back into our histories, or forward into our destinies. For Emerson Tang, the only son of a prominent New England family, that car is a 1954 Beacon. A collector—of art and experience—Emerson keeps his prized possession safely stored away. When his health begins to fail, his archivist and caretaker is approached by a secretive French painter determined to buy the Beacon at any cost. But they discover that the Beacon has been compromised—and that its importance reaches far beyond Emerson&’s own history. Soon they run into another who shares their obsession: the heir to the ruined Beacon Motor Company, who is determined to restore his grandfather&’s legacy. These four become unlikely adventurers, joined in their aim to reunite the Beacon&’s original body and engine, pitted against one another in their quest to claim it. Each new clue takes one closer to triumph, but also takes these characters, each grieving a deep loss, toward finding missing pieces of their own lives. A fast-paced ride through the twentieth century—to modernism, fascism, and industrialism, to Manhattan, a German zeppelin, a famed concours in Pebble Beach, and a road race in Italy—The Afterlife of Emerson Tang takes us deep into a complicated automotive romance. A novel of strangers connected across time, through a car that is so much more than a car, it asks us what should be preserved, what memories to trust, and whether some of the legacies we hold most dear—including that grand contraption, the automobile—can be made new again. &“Passionately written . . . Champa delves into individual souls and emotions in her riveting, layered tale that holds its surprises right up until the end.&” —Providence Journal &“A vintage 1954 Beacon car is the axis around which four characters revolve, trying to accept and resolve each of their sorrows in Champa&’s vividly detailed debut . . . [an] intellectual yet deeply human examination of what it means to live as well as to die.&” —Booklist

Copyright:

2013

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

Book Size:

288 Pages

ISBN-13:

9780547792798

Related ISBNs:

9780547792781

Publisher:

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Date of Addition:

01/20/24

Copyrighted By:

status in your country.

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

History, Literature and Fiction, Mystery and Thrillers

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.