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The Bar Harbor Retirement Home for Famous…
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The Bar Harbor Retirement Home for Famous Writers (And Their Muses): A Novel (edition 2018)

by Terri-Lynne DeFino (Author)

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25829102,625 (3.49)19
A whimsical, moving novel about a retirement home for literary legends who spar, conjure up new stories, and almost magically change the lives of the people around them. Alfonse Carducci was a literary giant who lived his life to excess -- lovers, alcohol, parties, and literary rivalries. But now he's come to the Bar Harbor Home for the Elderly to spend the remainder of his days among kindred spirits: the publishing industry's nearly gone but never forgotten greats. Only now, at the end of his life, does he comprehend the price of appeasing every desire, and the consequences of forsaking love to pursue greatness. For Alfonse has an unshakeable case of writer's block that distresses him much more than his precarious health. Set on the water in one of New England's most beautiful locales, the Bar Harbor Home was established specifically for elderly writers needing a place to live out their golden years -- or final days -- in understated luxury and surrounded by congenial literary company. A faithful staff of nurses and orderlies surround the writers, and are drawn into their orbit, as they are forced to reckon with their own life stories. Among them are Cecibel Bringer, a young woman who knows first-hand the cost of chasing excess. A terrible accident destroyed her face and her sister in a split-second decision that Cecibel can never forgive, though she has tried to forget. Living quietly as an orderly, refusing to risk again the cost of love, Cecibel never anticipated the impact of meeting her favorite writer, Alfonse Carducci -- or the effect he would have on her existence. In Cecibel, Alfonse finds a muse who returns him to the passion he thought he lost. As the words flow from him, weaving a tale taken up by the other residents of the Pen, Cecibel is reawakened to the idea of love and forgiveness. As the edges between story and reality blur, a world within a world is created. It's a place where the old are made young, the damaged are made whole, and anything is possible....… (more)
Member:virginiahomeschooler
Title:The Bar Harbor Retirement Home for Famous Writers (And Their Muses): A Novel
Authors:Terri-Lynne DeFino (Author)
Info:William Morrow Paperbacks (2018), 336 pages
Collections:Your library
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The Bar Harbor Retirement Home for Famous Writers (And Their Muses): A Novel by Terri-Lynne DeFino

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» See also 19 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 30 (next | show all)
This book not only has many stories to tell, it also literally has another book written by the characters as well. Original, uplifting, and at times heartbreaking. The characters in this book really are characters and they each have their own story to tell, their own secrets to keep, their own fight with the past, and their own fear of the future and how quickly it seems to be arriving. Each character bolsters the others and brings out more than they would ever be without one another. Beautifully written, wonderful to read, and impossible to forget. ( )
  TsarinaTyna | Aug 26, 2023 |
Like most novels within another novel, I found this book confusing at best and tedious at worst. I really felt it plodded along and I was constantly looking down at the percentage (Kindle version) to see how far I was. When I do that, I’m struggling to finish it. Like most books within a book, much of the narrative technique seemed gimmicky and forced. I wish I had passed on this. ( )
  FormerEnglishTeacher | Sep 6, 2022 |
My first 5 star of this year I think. I LOVED LOVED LOVED this book! I'm always attracted to books about books. This one is a book about books and authors and lovers of books and a book within a book, story within a story within a story!!! Without giving anything away, this story is set in a Home for Elderly writers, editors, publishers, and anyone with any connection to books. The orderlies that take care of these patients are all from the fringes of society and live there with the patients, and in doing so they all become very close. They create a very unlikely family and this is what is so endearing about this book. There is so much going on in this book, several different story lines, but the author ties everything together seamlessly. Not only is it a great work of literary fiction, the writing is beautifully done, almost poetic. Its also a romance and a story of redemption and healing for pretty much every character. The entire story was wrapped up very cleanly without a lot of questions left hanging (which I hate). I would highly recommend this to anybody who loves books. ( )
  Jen-Lynn | Aug 1, 2022 |
This book had potential but just didn’t live up to it. ( )
  Sunandsand | Apr 30, 2022 |
A retirement home strictly for famous writers in their old age, set in Maine in 1999 sounds like a good premise for a story. The home is the brain child of now dead writer Cornelius Traeger whose witty quotes front all the contemporary chapters. Moreover, there is a story within a story here as 4 of the "inmates" in the Pen who were once good friends (and some lovers) decide to collaborate on a new book in their late years. Olivia Peppernell is the spunky, pot-smoking (for medicinal purposes!) old woman whose books took on some women's issues in the day, reflecting her own life of being controlled and spoken for except when she was writing. Raymond Switcher is a salt-of-the-earth guy, steady and reliable and not the typical fast-lane best-seller author who is contrasted in Alphonse Carducci, the most famous of the group and a handsome, playboy type whose wit and brilliance were legendary in his day. Expert editor Judith Arsenault completes the quartet. They each pass a journal around among them and each writes a portion of a story set in the late 40s and 50s - a tale of forbidden love and passion and misunderstanding. Judith transcribes. They are working against their own frailties and the clock as Alphonse is ailing. However the staff there plays a role too -- Cecibel Bringer is an orderly who is the muse for Alphonse. She is beautiful - on half her face, the other half horribly scarred and "melted" from an auto accident. She finds romance with Finlay Pottinger, the handyman on the property who has his own sordid past of serving time for killing the teacher who abused him. So actually there are 3 stories here, I guess. Each develops expertly and the organization is very clear, which is appreciated because it's pretty complex. What is most interesting is the creative process among the writers and their camaraderie and their determination to create one last thing of beauty and meaning before they leave the earth. Pulled along in their wake, Cecibel and Finlay are also transformed creatively and the Pen fosters growth and healing even in the last stages of life. Charming and sweet with some humor and clever twists that manage to avoid triteness. ( )
  CarrieWuj | Oct 24, 2020 |
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A whimsical, moving novel about a retirement home for literary legends who spar, conjure up new stories, and almost magically change the lives of the people around them. Alfonse Carducci was a literary giant who lived his life to excess -- lovers, alcohol, parties, and literary rivalries. But now he's come to the Bar Harbor Home for the Elderly to spend the remainder of his days among kindred spirits: the publishing industry's nearly gone but never forgotten greats. Only now, at the end of his life, does he comprehend the price of appeasing every desire, and the consequences of forsaking love to pursue greatness. For Alfonse has an unshakeable case of writer's block that distresses him much more than his precarious health. Set on the water in one of New England's most beautiful locales, the Bar Harbor Home was established specifically for elderly writers needing a place to live out their golden years -- or final days -- in understated luxury and surrounded by congenial literary company. A faithful staff of nurses and orderlies surround the writers, and are drawn into their orbit, as they are forced to reckon with their own life stories. Among them are Cecibel Bringer, a young woman who knows first-hand the cost of chasing excess. A terrible accident destroyed her face and her sister in a split-second decision that Cecibel can never forgive, though she has tried to forget. Living quietly as an orderly, refusing to risk again the cost of love, Cecibel never anticipated the impact of meeting her favorite writer, Alfonse Carducci -- or the effect he would have on her existence. In Cecibel, Alfonse finds a muse who returns him to the passion he thought he lost. As the words flow from him, weaving a tale taken up by the other residents of the Pen, Cecibel is reawakened to the idea of love and forgiveness. As the edges between story and reality blur, a world within a world is created. It's a place where the old are made young, the damaged are made whole, and anything is possible....

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