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Product Details
Atria, May 2009
Hardcover, 368 pages
ISBN-10: 141658594X
ISBN-13: 9781416585947
Description
From nationally acclaimed political commentator and multimedia personality Farai Chideya comes an intense and darkly funny debut novel about a woman who learns what you stand to gain—and lose—if you follow your dreams.
Sophie Maria Clare Lee is no stranger to reinvention. A book-smart black girl from blue-collar Baltimore, she remade herself into a Harvard hipster, and finally into an indie rock musician touring America with her mesmerizing classmate (and now ex-husband) Ari Klein.
Now, ten years after graduation, a one-night musical reunion with Ari spurs Sophie to snatch back the mic. She lands a record deal—with the help of new manager and paramour Leo Masters—but quickly discovers that her celebrity status brings new risks for her sense of self and even her safety. As she and Ari play music together again, a complicated love triangle begins. With a Greek chorus of advice from her two best girlfriends, Sophie tries to figure out how she relates to these two men, the music business, her loving but demanding extended family, and her penchant for alcohol and melancholy. As the band tours the world, will Sophie’s faith, family, and friendships crumble under the weight of her dogged fight for fame?
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1. Get To Know Author Farai Chideya00:4127796597001 -
2. Journalist Farai Chideya Reveals Her Biggest Pet Peeve00:5227798140001 -
3. Farai Chideya: Kiss the Sky02:5627802950001
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How did you come to write this book?
I spent my time in my 20s as a club kid, going out 4 or 5 nights a week in the electronica, dance, and rock scenes. I later covered the entertainment world. I decided to take some of the real life dramas most of us deal with--love, family--and the heightened ones of our times (drugs, money)--and put them in the context of a world I've, frankly, only seen a tantalizing part of.
"This effervescent novel hits the right note every time. It may end up being a defining novel of the Obama generation."
-- Colin Channer, author of The Girl with the Golden Shoes
"Kiss the Sky crackles with raw energy...Farai Chideya's prose is smart, fast, clever, and addictive, with not only a breathless tension in the literary flow, but infused with musicality. You'll be rooting for Sophie to navigate her way through her relationships, her corporate television job, divey clubs, family dynamics, European music tours, industry sabotage, and self sabotage. Once you start reading, you won't be able to put this book down."
-- Lalita Tademy, author of Cane River and Red River
"Farai Chideya brings her unique brand of freshness, humor, and heartbreak to Kiss the Sky. You'll feel the heat of the lights and hear music on every page of this pop culture insider's peek behind the curtain at the elusive quest for love and fame. This novel was a rare treat!"
-- Tananarive Due, American Book Award winner, author of Joplin's Ghost and Blood Colony
"There are few that can sum up the social political, yet cultural divides and collides like Farai Chideya."
-- Chuck D, Public Enemy
"Captures the New York music scene at the turn of the millennium...memorable cast of side characters."
-- Publishers Weekly
"Engaging shout-out to the rock-and-roll life."
-- Booklist
Newsday, July 4, 2009
...lives, but they knew one - Michael Jackson - and they liked him. Author and former NPR commentator Farai Chideya says Jackson was the first black global superstar to succeed at removing race from consideration. 'When Sidney Poitier won the ...
San Fransico Examiner, July 1, 2009
...Farai Chideya talks about her new book, ?Kiss the Sky,' at Book Passage at the Ferry Building. Who?s in town Author, journalist and radio host Farai Chideya talks about her ...
