O'Nan

I don't know Pittsburgh, but through O'Nan's words I have become familiar with its different family neighborhoods, with the sweep of its boulevards and the "limestone monstrosities along Fifth Avenue", and the majesty of its landmarks, like the Point, "which never failed to impress, jutting like a prow into the choppy confluence."

Nina Sankovitch: Surrounded by Life: Emily, Alone by Stewart O'Nan Nina Sankovitch 2011

Dedicated to his mother, did O'Nan have her in mind when creating Emily?

Nina Sankovitch: Surrounded by Life: Emily, Alone by Stewart O'Nan Nina Sankovitch 2011

But O'Nan will surprise us, uncovering within his character a capacity for finding so much still to live for -- so many ties holding her to people and to places -- and providing a reminder to us all of life's capacity to excite and invigorate, at any age.

Nina Sankovitch: Surrounded by Life: Emily, Alone by Stewart O'Nan Nina Sankovitch 2011

Pittsburgh is a character in O'Nan's novel, intimately and affectionately portrayed, both as the shining city of culture and sophistication that Emily discovered in her youth (coming as she did from a small country town) and as the solidly placed (and stolid) loci of so many of her memories, habits, and traditions now that she is old.

Nina Sankovitch: Surrounded by Life: Emily, Alone by Stewart O'Nan Nina Sankovitch 2011

Emily, Alone, by Stewart O'Nan, is a book of quiet yet stunning beauty; steady and trim from the outside, like its protagonist, and, just like her, stirring inside with deep longings, intense observations, and a strong attachment to living.

Nina Sankovitch: Surrounded by Life: Emily, Alone by Stewart O'Nan Nina Sankovitch 2011

Pittsburgh is a character in O'Nan's novel, intimately and affectionately portrayed, both as the shining city of culture and sophistication that Emily discovered in her youth (coming as she did from a small country town) and as the solidly placed (and stolid) loci of so many of her memories, habits, and traditions now that she is old.

Nina Sankovitch: Surrounded by Life: Emily, Alone by Stewart O'Nan Nina Sankovitch 2011

I don't know Pittsburgh, but through O'Nan's words I have become familiar with its different family neighborhoods, with the sweep of its boulevards and the "limestone monstrosities along Fifth Avenue", and the majesty of its landmarks, like the Point, "which never failed to impress, jutting like a prow into the choppy confluence."

Nina Sankovitch: Surrounded by Life: Emily, Alone by Stewart O'Nan Nina Sankovitch 2011

Dedicated to his mother, did O'Nan have her in mind when creating Emily?

Nina Sankovitch: Surrounded by Life: Emily, Alone by Stewart O'Nan Nina Sankovitch 2011

Emily, Alone, by Stewart O'Nan, is a book of quiet yet stunning beauty; steady and trim from the outside, like its protagonist, and, just like her, stirring inside with deep longings, intense observations, and a strong attachment to living.

Nina Sankovitch: Surrounded by Life: Emily, Alone by Stewart O'Nan Nina Sankovitch 2011

But O'Nan will surprise us, uncovering within his character a capacity for finding so much still to live for -- so many ties holding her to people and to places -- and providing a reminder to us all of life's capacity to excite and invigorate, at any age.

Nina Sankovitch: Surrounded by Life: Emily, Alone by Stewart O'Nan Nina Sankovitch 2011