So Much Pretty

A Novel

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Set in a rural community steeped in silence and denial, So Much Pretty explores all parents’ greatest fear, that their child will be hurt. But it also examines a second, equally troubling question: What if my child hurts someone else? The disappearance and murder of nineteen-year-old Wendy White is detailed through the eyes of journalist Stacy Flynn and a host of other richly drawn characters, each with their own secrets and convictions. After Wendy’s body is found, Flynn’s intense crusade to expose a killer draws the attention of a precocious local girl, Alice Piper, whose story intertwines with Wendy’s in a spellbinding and unexpected climax.

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Simon & Schuster |
304 pages |
ISBN 9781451616774 |
March 2011

$11.66 List Price

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Praise

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“This beautiful, stealthy novel creeps up on the mesmerized reader, subtly drawing new strands into itself until what begins as the suspenseful story of a rural American murder grows into a dark, disquieting and urgently fascinating... ”

– Chris Cleave, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Little Bee and Incendiary

“A haunting suspense novel about a murder mystery based on a real-life missing-persons case.”

– Entertainment Weekly, #3 on “The Must List”

“[A] fearless first novel… For all the passion in this intense narrative, Hoffman writes with a restraint that makes poetry of pain. She also shows a mastery of her craft by developing the story over 17 years and narrating it... ”

– New York Times Book Review

“So Much Pretty delivers a skillful, psychologically acute tale of how violence affects a small town . . . To say more about Hoffman's constantly surprising story is to reveal too much, but the payoff is more than worth the... ”

– Los Angeles Times

“A dark but powerful debut . . . Hoffman maps the atmosphere of paranoia that descends on the formerly tranquil town as she moves deftly between its inhabitants.”

– The New Yorker (Books Pick)

“An extraordinarily smart and beautifully written page turner. . . . suspenseful and highly charged . . . Hoffman passionately blends the issue of violence against women that lurks unacknowledged at the dark edges of our culture... ”

– Powells.com

“The way investigative reporter Hoffman navigates the line between what is spoken and unspoken, and portrays a community's desire to address any crisis but the one next door make So Much Pretty a staggering read.”

– Huffington Post

“Cara Hoffman has written an intriguing, tangled puzzle of a novel that defies categorization. . . . As haunting and disturbing as Alice Sebold’s Lovely Bones. . . . So Much Pretty will be equally provocative and unforgettable... ”

– School Library Journal

“Hoffman takes on the poverty, drug abuse, environmental disasters and violence against women that are endemic to a small town in upstate New York. And she does it brilliantly, in stark and poetic prose, expressing a variety of... ”

– New Orleans Times-Picayune

“A spectacular debut: This beautifully constructed mystery, with its engaging characters and intriguing premise, has everything a reader wants.”

– The Globe and Mail (Canada)

“A mixture of The Lovely Bones and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo . . . Hoffman’s narrative oscillates between various characters, carefully building suspense, depth, and new insight with every chapter. Let’s hope we... ”

– Booklist

“So Much Pretty is a haunting, gloomy novel that defies genre -- it is one part crime thriller, one part ambitious novel, one part prose poem. . . . [The novel] raises questions about denial, violence against women and when a... ”

– NPR.org

“Perspective is a funny thing. It can make a small farm community in upstate New York seem isolating and suffocating for one person, a liberating paradise for another. In Cara Hoffman's debut novel, So Much Pretty, this jarring... ”

– The Boston Globe

“In this remarkable debut, Hoffman addresses serious injustices in present-day America. . . . This searing novel will linger long in the reader's memory.”

– Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“The theme of So Much Pretty is innocence lost and idealism gone wrong. . . . In the rundown little town of Haeden, things are never what they seem, as the tone of the novel grows more sinister and a young woman disappears. . . .... ”

– Library Journal

“Both haunting and moving . . . It's impossible not to be changed after reading this book.”

– Truth-out.org

“Captivating . . . Hoffman's careful weaving of each storyline is seamless. . . . The eyewitness accounts, and police interviews provide the most compelling material, as Hoffman creates a magnificent buildup to the conclusion. The... ”

– Manhattan Literature Examiner (Examiner.com)

“Very good and very hard to put down . . . If we’re forcing comparisons, I’d add . . . Daniel Woodrell’s 2006 novel Winter’s Bone for the hardscrabble grit of Smalltown, USA. . . . So Much Pretty looks... ”

– January Magazine

“In this polyphonic wonder of a book, Cara Hoffman will keep you reading into the wee hours of the night. So Much Pretty is a riveting and disturbing novel about the accommodations we make for violence and the human need for... ”

– Dana Spiotta, National Book Award-nominated author of Stone Arabia

“So Much Pretty unravels a narrative that's rich with suspense and moral complexity. Delicately balancing two story lines, Cara Hoffman dramatizes a death and a disappearance. Along the way, we get caught up in her portraits of... ”

– Lee Martin, author of The Bright Forever, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize

“So Much Pretty is an incredible, important book . . . I think everyone should read it.”

– J. Courtney Sullivan, New York Times bestselling author of Commencement and Maine

“A passionately angry, poetic, intelligent and shocking book. Cara Hoffman not only discovers the heart of darkness in small town Haeden, but brilliantly dissects it.”

– Rosamund Lupton, New York Times bestselling author of Sister

“So Much Pretty is certain to be talked about--not merely because it is a profound meditation on both public and private violence in small-town America, but for its captivating storytelling which draws you in on a visceral level and... ”

– Philipp Meyer, author of American Rust

“So Much Pretty is everything I love in a novel--dark, fascinating, beautifully written, impossible to put down. It marks the beginning of what promises to be an indelible literary career for Cara Hoffman.”

– Lauren Grodstein, author of A Friend of the Family and Reproduction is the Flaw of Love

“So Much Pretty is a compelling whodunit, an unnerving portrait of just what the back of nowhere looks like, and an arresting meditation on our culture's ongoing acceptance of violence against women. It's powered by both a... ”

– Jim Shepard, author of You Think That’s Bad and Like You’d Understand, Anyway

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Prologue

THEY ARE LOOKING for someone with blond or dark brown or black hair.

Someone with blue or maybe brown or green eyes. She could be five foot six or five-eight. Her hair could also be red, could be an unnatural color like pink or white.

It is likely she weighs between 110 and 140 pounds and may have a scar or bruise on her throat.

She would be working somewhere unseen. Working as a waitress or secretary or laborer. She could be a student. There is a strong possibility she would have a nontraditional job. That she’s transient, works agriculture or construction or second...

Claire

ALL THREE OF us walked in our sleep.

Later, when I would think about what happened, I would tell myself she was sleepwalking. Acting out a nightmare. Sleepwalking ran in our family. Dreaming while walking. Dreaming while talking. I know this is not an answer. The real answer is too simple.

Did she have health problems? Was she low–birth weight? Did she have headaches? Self-destructive behavior? Sudden changes in grades or friends? No.

Alice was a remarkably consistent soul. Healthy and athletic like her father. At home wherever she was. Happy at school and happy with all the...

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Reading Group Guide

This reading group guide for So Much Pretty includes an introduction, discussion questions, ideas for enhancing your book club, and a Q&A with author Cara Hoffman. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.

INTRODUCTION

So Much Pretty is a novel about family, community, and storytelling. The Pipers are a family built on optimism and on a deep-rooted commitment to community. Claire and Gene have moved with their precocious, beguiling daughter, Alice, to Haeden, New York, for a fresh start and to give Alice the freedom and opportunity they have always wanted for themselves. In doing so, they will unwittingly rewrite the story of her life. Stacey Flynn is a reporter, both a seeker and teller of stories. It is Flynn, gritty, relentless, and ultimately reckless, who will piece together the mysterious disappearance of a local girl, Wendy White—rebuilding her existence from all available fragments and forging a path to the truth.

QUESTIONS AND TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

1. The story’s prologue is an ominous introduction. How does this dark overture—focused on searching out something that isn’t easily found— frame the story?

2. Describe Claire and Gene Piper’s relationship. How did see more

Behind the Book

So Much Pretty Behind the Book

So Much Pretty Behind the Book By By: Cara Hoffman Michelle Mann, a minor character in my novel, So Much Pretty, is known for quoting Orwell to her friends: The duty of every intelligent person, she says, is to pay attention to the obvious. In the year and a half it took me to write So Much Pretty, I was paying attention to violence in women’s lives and the demoralization of men’s characte see more

Video

The Truth Behind SO MUCH PRETTY

Cara Hoffman delves into the inspiration behind SO MUCH PRETTY, her novel addressing the most disturbingly tangible issues of present day femininity and humanity.

Videos related to this book

The Truth Behind SO MUCH PRETTY

So Much Pretty

A Novel

Choose a format:

Choose a format:

Book details:

Teaching Resources

High Resolution Images

Praise

Read an Excerpt

See a Sample

Book Reviews

Reading Group Guide

Behind the Book

So Much Pretty Behind the Book

Video

The Truth Behind SO MUCH PRETTY

Videos related to this book

Related Websites

Cara Hoffman's Website

Follow Cara Hoffman On Twitter

So Much Pretty On Facebook

CONNECT WITH SIMON & SCHUSTER

So Much Pretty

A Novel

Added to Cart

So Much Pretty

Choose a format:

Choose a format:

Book details:

Teaching Resources

High Resolution Images

Praise

Read an Excerpt

See a Sample

Book Reviews

Reading Group Guide

Behind the Book

So Much Pretty Behind the Book

Video

The Truth Behind SO MUCH PRETTY

Videos related to this book

Related Websites

Cara Hoffman's Website

Follow Cara Hoffman On Twitter

So Much Pretty On Facebook

CONNECT WITH SIMON & SCHUSTER