P.F. Kluge Reads
College Bookstore manager Jim Huang did not have to look far to find a subject for the first major author event this academic year, tapping Writer-in-Residence P.F. Kluge. Kluge will discuss and read from his tenth book and eighth novel, A Call From Jersey (Overlook Press), on September 9 at 7:30 p.m., a week after the book's release.
The occasion will include a reception, book signing, and a question-and-answer period. "You have to consider something like this a celebration because publishing a book—even for a veteran writer such as Kluge—is a big deal, especially in this era of economic instability. Longevity is hard to come by and Kluge has it," Huang said.
Set in 1984, A Call From Jersey tells the story of a German immigrant family settled in New Jersey "on the wrong side of World War II." It focuses on the rocky relationship between a father and his travel-writer son, with an excursion into the world of German heavyweight boxing champion Max Schmeling, who trained a few miles from Kluge's childhood home. "Kluge is an extremely distinguished writer, so any new book from him is an event, but this one is especially exciting because it draws on his background growing up in New Jersey and is getting great reviews," Huang said.
Kluge, whose best-known work is Eddie and the Cruisers, actually wrote A Call from Jersey about 15 years ago, but put it away before deciding to revisit it this summer at the urging of his agent. "I fully expected to put it away again, but I got into it, liked it and started fiddling with it," Kluge said. "In a way the book has two authors—the writer I was then and now—and together we turned it into something new and likable. I have high hopes for it."
Readers can order a signed or inscribed copy of the book through www.bkstr.com or by noting their instructions in the "order comments" box during checkout at the Bookstore. The deadline is September 15 and shipping is free.