THE PLUNGE

Book ID/图书代码： 14935512B58516

English Summary/英文概要： A bit of history: Leslie’s previous two novels were published in the US by Shaye Areheart/Crown in 2006 and 2010, where they received great review attention and were considered modest successes. Both were published in France by 10/18-Univers Poche to great acclaim. The first, Slipstream, was also published in Germany by Krug & Schadenberg as Tubulenzen. Leslie’s second novel, Breaking Out of Bedlam, is comprised of the diaries of Cora Sledge, an incorrigible 82-year-old woman placed in an assisted living facility by her grown children. Published in France as Bons Baisers de Cora Sledge, the novel was a great success. A pocket edition, recently published, reached the top ten on French bestseller lists and continues to sell very well. They love her in France, it seems, and we’ve been very pleased with the way the books have been packaged and promoted there. 10/18 has a wonderful list, including many great American writers, and we are very happy to be there.

With the Shaye Areheart imprint no longer in existence (the two wonderful editors Leslie worked with have gone to other houses) and Crown’s fiction program moving in other directions, we find ourselves in the happy position of holding all the rights in this new book. I will begin submitting it in the US next week, but I felt that the huge success in France justified sending this out internationally.

The Plunge, like Leslie’s other novels, centers on an ordinary person on the margins. Paul Reeves, a strapping young man in his twenties, grew up fatherless and a stutterer. When his first great love goes up in flames, he sets out on a road trip to try to find the father that abandoned his family when he was just a child. Fueled by tips from a private investigator, Paul seems to be on a futile quest. The reader will believe Paul is more interested in distracting himself from the painful breakup than he is realistically expecting to find his father. But find his father he does, or at least that’s how things appear. Because while the reader is cheering for one outcome, the story takes a different, even more satisfying direction. It could be said that the two stories (the breakup and the search for his father) resolve each other in unexpected ways as Leslie provides the best ending (and the best novel) she’s ever written.

Chinese Summary/中文概要： 本書與Leslie 的其他小說一樣，以一個生活窘困的平常人為主角，講述他們的掙扎。Paul Reeves從小沒有父親，還有些口吃，現在已經成為20來歲的強壯青年。遭遇戀愛失敗后，他出發要把從小就拋棄家庭的父親找回來。但一個私人偵探的話讓他覺得這些追尋最終會落空。Paul是想要從破碎的現實中逃脫還是真的想找到父親?最終他的父親還是出現了。作者還是給了一個比較完滿的結尾，Paul不但找到了父親，也重新找回了自己的生活。

Leslie 以出人意料的方式給出了結局，也認為這本書是她最好的書。

Awards/获奖情况：

About the Author/作者介绍： Leslie’s writing is earthy and accessible. She’s incredibly funny (in person, too) and her characters spring to life on the page like magic. She’s having a good moment here in the US as well. She recently wrote a very well-received article for O, The Oprah Magazine, and they want her to write for them again.

Format:

Rights Status/版权销售情况：Simplified Chinese/简体中文：AVAILABLE

Complex/Traditional Chinese/繁体中文：AVAILABLE

Sales in other countries/其他国家销售情况：

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