Media Center: ‘Hourglass’ by Dani Shapiro

Media Center: ‘Hourglass’ by Dani Shapiro

WHO: Dani Shapiro

WHAT: HOURGLASS:
Time, Memory, Marriage

WHEN: Published by Knopf April 14, 2017

WHERE: Author tour to Boston, Connecticut, LA, Miami, Minneapolis, New Hampshire, NJ, NY, Portland OR, Providence, SF, Seattle.

WHY: “Compelling…a sharply observed and frequently moving memoir of a marriage.
“To write openly about an enduring intimate relationship requires courage and tact; it’s a balancing act that can trip up the most seasoned of writers, not to mention potentially damage the sacred bond at stake. In this compelling account of her 18-year marriage, Shapiro carefully exposes the vulnerabilities that have subtly begun to surface within the relationship and, individually, within her husband and herself, over the years, sensitively addressing how time, age, and the fluctuations of success continue to impact their lives.
“This is the third marriage for the author. Her husband, referenced here as simply M., is a screenwriter and formerly a foreign correspondent who was based in Africa. Together, they live in a rural setting in Connecticut with their teenage son. Shapiro moves back and forth in time from their first meeting at a cocktail party in Manhattan and their subsequent wedding and honeymoon in France through the various trials they’ve faced within their marriage. These include the near-death of their young son, deaths of parents, struggles with finances, and difficulties navigating the career demands and frequent disappointments of two writers sharing their working lives from a home base.
“Throughout, the narrative demonstrates Shapiro’s finely tuned, poetic skills as a writer. ‘The stumbles and falls; the lapses in judgment; the near misses; the could-haves. I’ve become convinced that our lives are shaped less by the mistakes we make than when we make them,’ she writes. ‘There is less elasticity now. Less time to bounce back. And so I heed the urgent whisper and move with greater and greater deliberation. I hold my life with M. carefully in my hands like the faience pottery we brought back from our honeymoon long ago…We must be handled with care.’”
—KIRKUS REVIEWS, a starred review

“Touching and intimate…Shapiro beautifully weaves together her own language and a commonplace books’s worth of perfect quotes from others.” —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, a starred review

“In a voice that radiates grace and wisdom, Shapiro writes poignantly about the passage of time and the conflicting forces of acceptance and denial that rage within us all.” —Carol Haggas, BOOKLIST

Jacket photo
Media Resources:
About the book and author | Author tour | Read an excerpt | Download the jacket | Download the author photo

Knopf. 160 pages. $22.95 978-0-451-49448-1


To interview the author, contact:
Anna Dobben | 212-572-2015 | adobben@penguinrandomhouse.com