Practice - Rosalind Brown

nA Vox and NPR Best Book of the Year n nAn astonishing first novel about a day in the life of a young student who experiences her thoughts, fantasies, and wishes as she writes about--or tries to write about--Shakespeare's sonnets. n nSix o'clock in the morning, Sunday, at the worn-out end of January. n nIn a small room, cold and dim and quiet, an undergraduate student works on an essay about Shakespeare's sonnets.

n nAnnabel has a meticulously planned routine for her day--work, yoga, meditation, long walks-- but finds it repeatedly thrown off course. Despite her efforts, she cannot stop her thoughts from slipping off their intended track into the shadows of elaborate erotic fantasies. n nAs the essay's deadline looms, so too does the irrepressible presence of other people: Annabel's boyfriend, Rich, keen to come visit her; her family and friends who demand her attention; and darker crises, obliquely glimpsed, all threatening to disturb the much-cherished quiet in her mind.

n nExquisitely crafted, wryly comic, and completely original, Rosalind Brown's Practice is a novel about the life of the mind and the life of the body, about the repercussions of a rigid routine and the deep pleasures of literature.n