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300 pages, Paperback
Published December 6, 2007
About the author
Jennifer Paddock
7 books21 followersJennifer Paddock is the author of the novels A Secret Word, Point Clear, and The Weight of Memory. She received an M.A. in creative writing from New York University, and her short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Stories from the Blue Moon Café, The North American Review, Other Voices, Garden and Gun, Mr. Beller’s Neighborhood, and The New York Times. She is also a tennis pro at The Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama.
Praise:
“A riveting novel about memory, the meaning of home, and what we are willing to leave behind.”
Michelle Richmond, author of The Year of Fog
“Jennifer Paddock seduces the reader with the narrative equivalent of a raised eyebrow or the almost imperceptible nod of the head. At the end the reader is inclined to ask the
writer as well as her characters—what’s next?”
Jay McInerney, author of Bright Lights, Big City
“Poignant and true, Paddock’s language evokes the
elegiac way lives play themselves out.”
William Gay, author of Twilight
“In remarkably elegant and evocative prose, Jennifer Paddockreveals that it’s not only the big moments that can change a life, but the deceptively quiet ones, like the eye of the hurricane her
heroine passes through.”
Leah Stewart, author of The Myth of You and Me
“Paddock writes like Raymond Carver with a bigger heart—simple, graceful but tough, always with an eye on the
possibility of redemption.”
Michael Knight, author of Goodnight, Nobody
“There is something about Paddock’s writing that defies conventional description. The closest word I can summon is ‘magic’.”
Melinda Haynes, author of Mother of Pearl
"Point Clear is a subtle novel about an introspective young woman's search for selfhood . . . elegiac prose . . . . A warm tale.” –-Publishers Weekly
"A Secret Word is striking . . . a subtle, surprising first novel, with unforgettable characters, a quiet sense of place and a nuanced exploration of the secrets, loves, despairs, friends and relatives that shape our lives.”—Publishers Weekly
"A Secret Word is an uncommonly assured debut . . . Paddock's narrative is deceptively simple. Her characters neither implausibly obsess over minutiae nor have conveniently placed dramatic episodes; instead, their creator relies on a smoothly authoritative voice to simply carry us through. An unusually generous spirit animates these pages, knowledgeable about shared pain, the call of the big city, disappointments, and secret keeping . . . . the lucky discovery of three secret diaries."-- Kirkus Reviews
"Filled with many moving and sometimes devastating moments and observations, Paddock’s first novel is three coming-of-age stories for the price of one." — Booklist
Praise:
“A riveting novel about memory, the meaning of home, and what we are willing to leave behind.”
Michelle Richmond, author of The Year of Fog
“Jennifer Paddock seduces the reader with the narrative equivalent of a raised eyebrow or the almost imperceptible nod of the head. At the end the reader is inclined to ask the
writer as well as her characters—what’s next?”
Jay McInerney, author of Bright Lights, Big City
“Poignant and true, Paddock’s language evokes the
elegiac way lives play themselves out.”
William Gay, author of Twilight
“In remarkably elegant and evocative prose, Jennifer Paddockreveals that it’s not only the big moments that can change a life, but the deceptively quiet ones, like the eye of the hurricane her
heroine passes through.”
Leah Stewart, author of The Myth of You and Me
“Paddock writes like Raymond Carver with a bigger heart—simple, graceful but tough, always with an eye on the
possibility of redemption.”
Michael Knight, author of Goodnight, Nobody
“There is something about Paddock’s writing that defies conventional description. The closest word I can summon is ‘magic’.”
Melinda Haynes, author of Mother of Pearl
"Point Clear is a subtle novel about an introspective young woman's search for selfhood . . . elegiac prose . . . . A warm tale.” –-Publishers Weekly
"A Secret Word is striking . . . a subtle, surprising first novel, with unforgettable characters, a quiet sense of place and a nuanced exploration of the secrets, loves, despairs, friends and relatives that shape our lives.”—Publishers Weekly
"A Secret Word is an uncommonly assured debut . . . Paddock's narrative is deceptively simple. Her characters neither implausibly obsess over minutiae nor have conveniently placed dramatic episodes; instead, their creator relies on a smoothly authoritative voice to simply carry us through. An unusually generous spirit animates these pages, knowledgeable about shared pain, the call of the big city, disappointments, and secret keeping . . . . the lucky discovery of three secret diaries."-- Kirkus Reviews
"Filled with many moving and sometimes devastating moments and observations, Paddock’s first novel is three coming-of-age stories for the price of one." — Booklist
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