The Sixteenth of June

April 28, 2014
June 16 is, of course, Bloomsday—the day on which Joyce’s Ulysses takes place. Brothers Stephen and Leopold were named for the book’s two protagonists by their parents, the Portmans, a well-to-do Philadelphia couple who are lifelong Joyce fans. Naturally, the Portmans celebrate Bloomsday every year, and the sudden death of the husband’s mother on June 16, 2004, won’t be allowed to spoil the festivities. As adults, the brothers are polar opposites: Leo is hearty and unintellectual, while Stephen is a cerebral grad student unable, or unwilling, to complete his dissertation. Stephen is best friends with Leo’s fiancée, Nora, a lapsed opera singer grieving for her mother. Over the course of the day, each character confronts issues in his or her life. Leo wishes Nora would cheer up and marry him, Nora is worried about their relationship, and Stephen resents his family for not mourning his grandmother’s death deeply enough. And then, at the end, things somehow work out. Is it the magic of Joyce? Hard to say, but while Lang’s love for the author is evident, it’s not clear why the patron saint of difficult literature has been so elaborately invoked for this straightforward, mild-mannered tale of love and family. Agent: Miriam Altshuler, Miriam Altshuler Literary Agency.

May 1, 2014
Nothing is going to stop June and Michael Portman from hosting their annual Bloomsday soir'enot even Grandma Portman's funeral that morning. Taking place on a single day, like James Joyce's Ulysses, Lang's clever first novel tracks three twentysomethings: the Portmans' sons, Stephen and Leopold, and Nora, who is Leo's fianc'e as well as Stephen's best friend. All three of them are stuck. Stephen has been trying to write his dissertation for seven years. Leo longs for a house in the suburbs and three kids, but Nora shows no signs of wanting to cap their long engagement with a wedding. And gifted Nora, who feels she doesn't fit in with the Portmans' privileged lifestyle, is singing jazz instead of opera and still in deep mourning for her mother, now dead for a year. They all find some resolution by the end of the day, although it isn't necessarily the one they expected or hoped for. Despite the references to Ulysses, the Portmans'and the novel'sconnection to Joyce's work lies mostly on the surface. What matters more is the family dynamic and its currents of longing, loss, and love.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)