The Great Lenore: A Novel
by JM Tohline
Fiction, Trade Paperback Original
ISBN 978-0-9845105-5-9
5 x 8 in / 204 pages
Publication Date: June 15, 2011
The Great Lenore is the tale of a ravishing young Brit whose falsely-reported death provides her with an opportunity to begin a new life. Before she can disappear for good, however, she longs to know the reaction of her two-timing husband and his aristocratic family.
To find out, Lenore enlists Richard—an outsider in the money-and-booze sodden landscape of Nantucket high society—to be her eyes and ears. As events unfold, Richard discovers the entanglements of Lenore’s relationships are more intricate than he ever expected…more intricate even than the secrets within Lenore’s miniature punt boat.
This elegant debut paints an idyllic island surrounded by reflective seas and encased in a world where souls collide, mysteries thicken, and dreams unravel. With lively, modern prose reminiscent of The Jazz Age, Tohline orchestrates a playful literary riff on affluence, love, grief, and duplicity. In the author’s words, “[It] is about dreams, and about the things we sacrifice to chase them.”
Praise for The Great Lenore
“[B]eautiful in the same way that J. D. Salinger’s books are beautiful. Lyrical without being pretentious or self absorbed, melodic without being baroque…refreshing”
–New York Journal of Books
“[A] page-turner that introduces the literary world to an author with a clear and profound appreciation for the American literary canon.”
–Small Press Reviews
“[A] masterful, clever and touching story…crafted with an expert’s touch.”
–The Rookie Scrivener
“More often than Gatsby, Lenore took my breath away, sneaked up behind me and coolly turned what I thought I knew about the story on its head.”
–Erin Reads
“JM Tohline’s tribute puts him in excellent company.”
–The Washington Independent Review of Books
“JM Tohline may grab you with an unforgettable opening line, but the impressive fact is that he keeps the intrigue going page after page…a story about what happens when we do, or don’t, follow our hearts.”
–Christine Horos
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JM Tohline grew up in a small town just north of Boston and lives in a quiet house on the edge of the Great Plains with his cat, The Old Man And The Sea. He is 26 years old. The Great Lenore is his first novel.