I’ve mentioned my love for Ann Packer’s books many a time on this blog, so I about jumped for joy when I read the following book deal announcement:
Ann Packer’s The Children’s Crusade, following four siblings, the children of a nearly perfect doctor father and his increasingly unhappy wife: The novel moves from a long day in childhood to a week some 30 years later when the adult siblings are re-united and the youngest introduces a troubling issue.
Ann Packer / photo by Jonathan Sprague
Packer will move from her current publisher—Knopf—to Nan Graham at Scribner. No word yet on when this novel will be published, but you know I’ll keep you posted.
Although I enjoyed Packer’s powerful story collection Swim Back to Me (I interviewed her about it here), I’m so glad she’s returning to the form that made her a bestseller. She is so good at exploring the relationships among family members and close friends in a book-length story; The Dive from Clausen’s Pier and Songs Without Words are two of my favorite novels.
Are you a fan of Ann Packer? Are you excited about The Children’s Crusade?
I love all things Ann Packer and am so excited to see she has a new book in the works!