Local author to discuss her new book on May 30

GILFORD — Local author Abi Maxwell will appear at the Gilford Public Library — where she works — on Thursday, May 30, at 6:30 p.m. as part of her book tour promoting her new novel "The Den" which was published by Knopf and went on sale May 14.

One of Vulture’s Most Anticipated Books of 2019, "The Den" tells the story of two young women who find themselves ostracized from the same small New England community for the same reasons, though they are separated by 150 years. In the words of Rufi Thorpe, author of "The Girls from Corona del Mar," “Addictive and delightfully eerie, 'The Den' paints a new portrait of an old subject: the ways we tamp down, hide, control and obscure that oldest of chaotic energies, the original socially disruptive force, female desire.”

"The Den" explores women’s power and choices, and the ways society holds women accountable for sex instead of men. It tells of two sets of sisters living on the same New England farm, 150 years apart, and the older sisters are both outcast for falling in love and engaging in “transgressive” behavior as teenagers. As the tales unfold in different time periods, Maxwell prompts the reader to consider how much progress we’ve actually made as a culture.

Maxwell also is the author of "Lake People," and her fiction has appeared in McSweeney's. She studied writing at the University of Montana and now lives in New Hampshire, where she grew up, with her husband and son.