Cherise Wolas

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Cherise Wolas

Goodreads Author


Born
Los Angeles, The United States
Website

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Member Since
October 2013


Cherise Wolas is the author of two highly acclaimed novels: The Resurrection of Joan Ashby and The Family Tabor.

The Resurrection of Joan Ashby is a 2019 International Dublin Literary Award nominee, a PEN Debut Fiction Prize semi-finalist, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice and Paperback Row selection, an American Bookseller Association Indie Next Great Read pick, a Kirkus Reviews Best Novel and Best Debut Novel of 2017 and named a Best Novel, Best Debut Novel, and top 10 novel of the year, by various other venues. Published now in France, the UK, and Poland, it’s being translated into a variety of other languages, including Hebrew, Turkish, and Chinese.

The Family Tabor is an ABA Indie Next Great Read in Hardcover, Paperback, and
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Popular Answered Questions

Cherise Wolas Hi Jane!

Thank you for being my very first question here!

I think I was born with this particular superpower—to read voraciously and retain what I read…more
Hi Jane!

Thank you for being my very first question here!

I think I was born with this particular superpower—to read voraciously and retain what I read, and I feel so lucky to have it.

Two books that have made a great impression on me in the last few years are 2666 by Roberto Bolano, his final book before he died, and The Sound of Things Falling by Juan Gabriel Vasquez. Both are South American writers. Bolano was Chilean, Vasquez is Colombian.

2666 is massive, 900 pages, with a title that remains elusive (though apparently explained in another novel). It is a five-part narrative, each comprised of different characters and stories. Each part is amazing, but it’s only at the end do you start to realize each is like the spoke of wheel, and you begin to see how the spokes unite, see that it is a wheel. It is a stylistically rich literary labyrinth that defies categorization, and yet, perhaps unbelievably, it is easy to read. It mesmerized me, and I plan to read it again.

The Sound of Things Falling by Vasquez, at 320 pages, seems like a novella in comparison. It is an exploration of the ways in which stories profoundly affect lives, and how the stories of others affect us. When I finished it, I promptly read all of Vasquez’s other novels and collections.

Neither of these marvelous novels influenced The Resurrection of Joan Ashby; I read them after writing it. But perhaps I’m so enamored with them (and am always recommending them) because their themes resonate intensely with me both as a reader and as a writer who explores narratives within narratives and the interrelationship of things. They are different but equally fabulous writers for whom the actual writing is as important as the plot, which it what I strive for too.


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Cherise Wolas
Hi Ilene Harris,
I’m so pleased you loved The Resurrection of Joan Ashby! And so pleased too that you loved Joan Ashby’s short stories. Ah, you want to…more

Hi Ilene Harris,
I’m so pleased you loved The Resurrection of Joan Ashby! And so pleased too that you loved Joan Ashby’s short stories. Ah, you want to know what happens to Silas and Abe, the twins abandoned at birth, lovingly fostered, and then sent away on their 18th birthdays. Maybe, one day, they will have their own book. And yes, I am writing more books and thrilled that I will have you as a reader! (less)
Average rating: 3.76 · 3,122 ratings · 836 reviews · 2 distinct worksSimilar authors
The Resurrection of Joan Ashby

3.84 avg rating — 2,113 ratings — published 2017 — 21 editions
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The Family Tabor

3.59 avg rating — 1,009 ratings — published 2018 — 14 editions
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* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

Author Interview with Cherise Wolas for the Campaign for the American Reader

I answered some fantastic questions in connection with my second novel, THE FAMILY TABOR, about writing, titles, naming characters, if my teenager reader self would be surprised by my novels, if I find it harder to write beginnings or endings, if I see myself in my characters, and what non-literary inspirations influence me.

The link is: bit.ly/TheFamilyTaborCWolas Read more of this blog post »
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Published on April 23, 2020 09:01

Cherise’s Recent Updates

Cherise Wolas and 39 other people liked Alwynne's review of The Möbius Book:
The Möbius Book by Catherine Lacey
"In the aftermath of a devastating split from her partner, fellow author Jesse Ball, Catherine Lacey began writing a memoir rooted in the circumstances surrounding that event. But a chance conversation with her British editor raised potential issues w" Read more of this review »
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Peptides Made Simple by Matthew Farrahi
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Useful as a resource.
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Underground Life Extension Handbook by Ryker Black
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Good resource.
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Optimize your Health with Therapeutic Peptides by Jay Campbell
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Underground Life Extension Handbook by Ryker Black
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Peptide Handbook by James  B. LaValle  RPhCCN
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A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr
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Review to come.
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A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr
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A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr
A Month in the Country
by J.L. Carr
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You Are Here by David Nicholls
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For the first time ever in my life, I absolutely lost the will to read, from August through September, and this sweet novel, that demands nothing from the reader, was a gentle return. I didn't quite buy all of Marnie's awkwardness, but the characters ...more
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Quotes by Cherise Wolas  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“Joan thinks then that writers have infinite choices and mothers nearly no choice at all.”
Cherise Wolas, The Resurrection of Joan Ashby

“Joan Ashby is one of our most astonishing writers, a master of words whose profound characters slip free of the page...”
Cherise Wolas

“All the ways in which women become mothers of some sort. Is motherhood inescapably entwined in female life, a story every woman ends up telling, whether or not she sought or desired that bond; her nourishment, her caretaking, her love, needed by someone standing before her, hands held out, heart demanding succor, commanding her not look away, but to dig deep, give of herself unstintingly, offer up everything she can?”
Cherise Wolas, The Resurrection of Joan Ashby

Topics Mentioning This Author

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Ladies & Literature: ARC Giveaway: Meanie Genie 37 18 May 08, 2017 05:08PM  
Books on the Nigh...: What are you reading, August, 2017 37 99 Sep 01, 2017 09:49AM  
Book Snails Book ...: What are you reading, August 2018? 18 13 Aug 29, 2018 08:16PM  
NetGalley Readers: This topic has been closed to new comments. Just Requested and Recently Approved 10684 1894 Dec 23, 2020 02:01PM  
“When asked 'Do you think great things are ahead of you or behind you?' Harry had replied, 'The past no longer exists, there is only the future, whatever it may hold,' and something about his answer to that consideration of mystical simplicity has continued to give him pause”
Cherise Wolas, The Family Tabor

“Joan Ashby is one of our most astonishing writers, a master of words whose profound characters slip free of the page...”
Cherise Wolas

“The middle seat holds an old woman, teeny, not much bigger than a doll. She is creased and wrinkled and rheumy-eyed. Her eyes, though, beneath their cloudy scrim, sparkle like emeralds. And she is bright. She is very bright. Her cheeks rouged a happy pink. Her sweater a hot pink, the vibrant color masking the heavy load on her sloped, thin shoulders.”
Cherise Wolas, The Resurrection of Joan Ashby

“A bright red car whizzes past. She is like that car, carrying herself with spangle and spark, but the strength that has long held her up is weakening.”
Cherise Wolas, The Family Tabor

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