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"Lara Tupper's OFF ISLAND is a beautiful accomplishment, unlike any other work of fiction I can recall. The two narratives intertwine in such a way as to both demystify historical celebrity and elevate contemporary plainfolk. The prose is seductive and elegant, the story smart, enlightening, and oh so satisfying." - Antonya Nelson, author of BOUND and FUNNY ONCE
"What if Paul Gauguin went to Maine? That's the launching point of Lara Tupper's glistening new novel, OFF ISLAND, which reaches back into a vividly imagined history and traces it forward into the modern day lives of a tortured artist who may or may not be Gauguin's descendant and the women he loves. In mesmeric prose, rich with sensual detail and a burning empathy for her characters, moving between Maine and New York and Copenhagen, Tupper blends what might have been with what is and in doing so throws a painter's light on all our pasts and presents." - Jeremy Gavron, author of FELIX CULPA and A WOMAN ON THE EDGE OF TIME
"Beautifully understated, deft in its details, evocative of place and eras, Lara Tupper's OFF ISLAND combines the painter's perception of the visual world with the sensuality and coarseness of the physical world. Masterful and matter-of-fact, Tupper adeptly blends art, character study, and mystery in this compact, elliptical novel." – Peter Turchi, author of A MUSE AND A MAZE and MAPS OF THE IMAGINATION
"Dense with beautiful coastal imagery and thoughtful in its consideration of ill-suited connections, the novel picks its seams of marriages and affairs with clarity. Though Gauguin's legacy is dark, OFF ISLAND, with its vulnerable characters and moody setting, is a novel to savor." - Karen Rigby, FOREWORD REVIEWS
"Lara Tupper's prose shines with the same vibrancy of color that captivated her protagonist [Paul Gauguin]....An elegant investigation of family and art as conflicting forces...an awe-inspiring portrait that readers will be reluctant to leave." - Sara McCrea, YOU JUST HAVE TO READ THIS
"Maine writer Lara Tupper has written a luminous novel, OFF ISLAND, about Gauguin, his (imagined) life and legacy. From music to writing to (writing about) art, Lara Tupper has a unique take on the world. Take a look yourself! – Christina Baker Kline, author of ORPHAN TRAIN and A PIECE OF THE WORLD
"Wonderful and incisive, A Thousand and One Nights tells us in a new way what it means to be young and American. Tupper casts a keen, intelligent eye on the contemporary world, its multitude of fakeries and deceits, providing us with a witty, poignant, wholly worthwhile read."— Elizabeth Strout
"This is a moving and accomplished first novel." - Jim Shepard
"Both an off-kilter take on the conventional coming-of-age tale and a sly commentary on the underbelly of celebrity culture, this truly original book is basically uncategorizable—blissfully so." - Elle.com
"Shrewdly observed." - The Boston Globe
"Add [this] title to your must-read list." -The Sacramento Bee