"Bertrand Place "is a captivating novel told in story form, intertwining seventeen luminous narratives about the secrets of a cast of politicos, filmmakers, and housewives, all tied to a suburban Washington, DC, cul-de-sac. Linked through bloodlines and grocery lines, they respond to life's bruises by grabbing power, sex, or the family silver. As they atone and forgive, they unmask the love and truth that hop white picket fences.Michelle Brafman is the author of the novel "Washing the Dead," and she is also a contributor the upcoming Harper Collins anthology "Crush," joining a stellar cast of writers that includes Carrie Fisher, Stephen King, and Roxane Gay. She has received numerous awards for her fiction, which has appeared in the "Pushcart Anthology," "Lilith," "Fifth Wednesday Journal," the "Minnesota Review," "Blackbird," and many other journals; her nonfiction pieces have been published in "Slate," "Tablet," the "Washington Post," and elsewhere. She has been chosen as a Visiting Scribe by the Jewish Book Council and as a blogger for "Lilith Magazine." Brafman teaches fiction writing at the Johns Hopkins University MA in Writing Program and the George Washington University. She lives in Glen Echo, Maryland.
Industry Reviews
"Brafman's talent for drawing human emotion shines through in this episodic, deeply sensitive, and introspective novel of the human psyche."
- Booklist
"With insight and empathy, Michelle Brafman portrays a wide range of interconnected characters who share heartbreak, indiscretions, and tantalizing secrets in this keenly observed multi-generational chronicle."
- J. Ryan Stradal, author of Kitchens of the Great Midwest
"Brafman employs humor, deft pacing, and artful jump-cuts to vividly and warmly evoke the lives and families of policy wonks, politicos, and housewives."
- Politics & Prose Bookstore (a #1 Politics & Prose bestseller!)
"The thread of Jewish culture that runs through Brafman's novel is both respectful provocative and lovingly integrated. These graceful, insightful stories are a testament to our complicated lives and importance of family and friends."
- Jewish Book Council
"What's not to love?"
- Kveller.com
"Brafman's gorgeous linked narratives focus on a group of astonishing characters, all grappling with power, lust, love, sex, and how best to be alive in a complicated world, all set against the backdrop of a Washington D.C. suburb. Gloriously alive, moving, and blazingly honest-Bertrand Court is brilliant."
- Caroline Leavitt, New York Times-bestselling author of Is Cruel Beautiful World and Pictures of You
"Brafman makes the familiar fascinating, just as she previously made (in Washing the Dead) the exotic familiar."
- Best New Fiction
"[It] pulsates with the issues of modern, suburban Jewish life."
- Jerusalem Post
"I ripped through Bertrand Court in a single afternoon. Could not put it down. It was like binge-watching a great show. So much humor. So many stunning lines-lines that encompassed amazing ideas. What a fabulous read."
- Helen Simonson, author of The Summer Before the War and Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
"Michelle Brafman eavesdrops on the human heart and reports back to us in Bertrand Court with honesty, compassion, and soul. This is gorgeous writing, in stories lit with grace."
- Dylan Landis, author of Rainey Royal and Normal People Don't Live Like This
"Like a Jewish Anne Lamott, Michelle Brafman reels you in with warmth, depth, and heart."
- Susan Coll, author of The Stager and Acceptance
"I had the pleasure of tearing through this book in two days.. . . As wine lovers say about their favorite blends, the characters and flavors are so deliciously complex and play off each other. This would be a fabulous book to read with friends!"
- Mary Kay Zuravleff, author of Man Alive!
