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Bottle Grove

A Novel
By Daniel Handler
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Check link for latest rating. ( 863 ratings, 151 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Bottle Grove by Daniel Handler is set against the backdrop of a lush, enigmatic forest in San Francisco. The story follows two couples navigating relationships, secrets, and shifting ambitions amid a whimsical yet sharp portrayal of love and desire. The narrative weaves humour and intrigue, capturing the quirky essence of its characters' lives within this modern, enchanted setting.
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Format: Hardback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you relish stories set against the backdrop of a San Francisco wedding, exploring love, deception, and the complexities of modern relationships. The tale weaves humour and wit into its narrative, making it an engaging read for those who appreciate literary fiction with a touch of satire.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

A sexy, skewering dark comedy about two unions--one forged of love and the other of greed--and about the forces that can drive couples together, into dependence, and then into sinister, even supernatural realms.al realms.

A razor-sharp tale of two couples, two marriages, a bar, and a San Francisco start-up--from a best-selling, award-winning novelist.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A razor-sharp tale of two couples, two marriages, a bar, and a San Francisco start-up from a best-selling, award-winning novelist.

This is a story about two marriages. Or is it? It begins with a wedding, held in the small San Francisco forest of Bottle Grove—bestowed by a wealthy patron for the public good, back when people did such things. Here is a cross-section of lives, a stretch of urban green where ritzy guests, lustful teenagers, drunken revelers, and forest creatures all wait for the sun to go down.

The girl in the corner slugging vodka from a cough-syrup bottle is Padgett—she’s keeping something secreted in the woods. The couple at the altar are the Nickels—the bride is emphatic about changing her name, as there is plenty about her old life she is ready to forget.

Set in San Francisco as the tech-boom is exploding, Bottle Grove is a sexy, skewering dark comedy about two unions—one forged of love and the other of greed—and about the forces that can drive couples together, into dependence, and then into sinister, even supernatural realms. Add one ominous shape-shifter to the mix, and you get a delightful and strange spectacle: a story of scheming and yearning, of foibles and love, and what we end up doing for it—all with everyone harbouring a secret.

Looming over it all is the income disparity between San Francisco's tech community and... everyone else.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Bottle Grove by Daniel Handler is a darkly comedic novel set in San Francisco against the backdrop of the tech boom, focusing on two marriages entangled in themes of greed, secrets, and class disparity. Reviewers praise Handler's sharp wit and unique storytelling ability, highlighting his exploration of societal issues with an offbeat, yet realistic touch. The novel is described as both humorous and chilling, blending elements of fantasy with an authentic portrayal of San Francisco's rapidly changing landscape. Handler's distinctive style captivates readers with its cleverness and underlying commentary on human nature.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781632864277

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 28 November 2019

Country: United States

Imprint: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 16.0mm

Width: 140.0mm

Height: 212.0mm

Weight: 400g

Pages: 240

Collections

Daniel Handler Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction

About the Author

Daniel Handler is the author of the novels All the Dirty Parts, We Are Pirates, The Basic Eight, Watch Your Mouth, Adverbs, and Why We Broke Up. As Lemony Snicket, he is responsible for many books for children, including the thirteen-volume sequence A Series of Unfortunate Events and the four-book series All the Wrong Questions. He is married to the illustrator Lisa Brown, and lives with her and their son in San Francisco.

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    A memoir from the beloved author behind the multimillion-copy bestselling A Series of Unfortunate Events. Handler’s memoir, although subtle, ironic and full of dry wit, still pulses with that same childlike enthusiasm for books. Read it and you might just catch the bug. – The Sunday Times Known to most as Lemony Snicket, the tormented narrator of A Series of...
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    A moving story about a relationship breakdown, which is a topic not often touched on. Focus in this genre is usually on romance, love, desire, and the start of something. Why We Broke Up is an important story about the realities of things ending. It is realistic and mature and speaks directly to teenagers about real-life experience.
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    Can a photograph capture the sensation of a warm spring breeze or the smell of freshly fallen snow? Weather, Weather, the third volume in a series of creative collaborations between renowned artist and bestselling author Maira Kalman, New York Times bestselling author Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket), and The Museum of Modern Art, New York, is an evocative exploration of...
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