Author Susan Perabo shared the first two chapters of her upcoming novel with Shippensburg University students and faculty during a book discussion on Nov. 10.
Perabo is an English and creative writing professor at Dickinson College, who has written a novel and an anthology. Her stories have been published in magazines such as The Missouri Review and The Sun.
Perabo read from her latest work, “The Fall of Lisa Bellow,” and talked about the story structure during her discussion at the Cora I. Grove Spiritual Center.
The book is scheduled to be released in the spring.
The premise of the novel is based on the alternating perspectives between a middle school girl, Meredith, and her mother, Claire. Perabo said the characters were originally created separately.
“They were existing on separate tracks in my head and one day they touched,” Perabo said.
The first chapter of the novel focuses on Meredith, whose locker is next to a girl named Lisa Bellow. Lisa and her friends are the most popular girls in school and make fun of Meredith, Perabo said.
The second chapter switches the perspective to Claire, Meredith’s mother. Her side of the story begins years before when Meredith was only 2 years old. Claire learns that her son, Evan, is being made fun of by other boys in his class.
Evan, only 6 years old, says he is not bothered by it, but Meredith is.
Later on in the story, Meredith and Lisa are in a sandwich shop when a gunman kidnaps Lisa, leaving Meredith behind.
“The idea of being someone left behind and all of the feelings and conflicting emotions that would go on as a result of that really made up that character,” Perabo said.
According to Perabo, the novel is about the balance of family and dealing with Meredith’s emotions.
“You see four different ways of dealing with trauma,” Perabo said.
SU English professor Neil Connelly said it was a great preview of the story that he could relate to because of his children.
“It invites everybody in whether they’ve got kids or not,” Connelly said.
“Susan Perabo manages to distill those complexities into a series of short and powerful stories that strike straight into the truth of the matter,” said Amber J. Pound, editor-in-chief of SU’s The Reflector. Sophomore Abby Johnson said she liked how the story switched perspectives because it gave insight to the emotions of both the daughter and the mother.
“I really enjoyed the reading,” Johnson said. “I look forward to the book’s release.”
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