The Center for Fiction Presents Valeria Luiselli on Beginning Middle End

Acclaimed author Valeria Luiselli (Lost Children Archive, The Story of My Teeth) joins us at The Center to discuss her new book, Beginning Middle End, a warm and poetic novel set on the island of Sicily during a summer of wild winds, volcanic rumbles, and unexpected tempests.

Luiselli’s latest opens with a mother and her teen daughter traveling together in the wake of a divorce and the dissolution of their traditional family structure. While the mother tries to figure out how to reconstruct their lives together—cooking meals side by side, reading out loud to each other, playing chess, bickering, and making up—her deeply intelligent, inquisitive daughter begins to take the reins of the story. In time, Beginning Middle End evolves into a road novel of exquisite tenderness that confronts the primary questions of life: Where is home? Where do we dwell and seek safety? How are a family’s memories made, and what happens when they disappear?

Throughout the event, Luiselli will unpack her portrayal of history, family, and place, as well as the sense of possibility that lingers within dark times. A book signing will follow the event.